


The Meanderer

by xeveningx



Series: Gift Bearers Series [2]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, birb girl!, first half is angst and nihilism, secon half is the healing process xD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:47:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 122,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14140257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xeveningx/pseuds/xeveningx
Summary: "The world is beautiful and pure, it's the weeds in it that ruin it." And to save the world she loves, Noé will do what she must: find her friends to free her master. But as she learns what saving it implies—protecting the innocent as well as the wicked—discourse stirs in her. After all that it has done to her and those she loved, is it really worth saving anymore? "It's not the world that's worth saving," a red cub told her. It's hard to understand his words. But in them hides the truth she wishes to know, a truth she denies to herself, and a truth she has known since the beginning.





	1. Bird of Paradise

| **i. Fledging** |

" **A long, long time ago, there was a little girl that wanted nothing more than to see the world and all the wonders it held.**

**Since her birth, she had been a bird of clipped wings. The fact did not dither her, though, and only made her yearning grow. To her, the world was a mystery. One that she wished to discover for herself. Despite her clipped wings, her heart soared with wonder, one she wanted to satiate.**

**One day, after years and years of dreaming, the outside world came to her. From the dark abodes of her keep, she rose and the first thing she saw that would forever be ingrained in her mind would be...that sky.**

**One so beryl, so vast, so new.**

**From that day and until her last day, the girl would come to love that empyrean blue and that which it granted her: deliverance itself.**

**And, oh that sky…"**

— **{i}—**

Ragged breath escaped her tired lungs. Her throat parched screamed for relief but she gave it none, too at awe with the scent and feel of the outside. Unable to stop herself, the young girl left the treasure she earned behind and ran up to the edge of the trenching hole.

A trench. Nothing but deepened earth. That's all it was. Just one more obstacle. And what was one more after the hell she lived.

" _Slow down, kid."_

Despite the chastising, she didn't listen. Her feet beaten from years of walking bare on hardened dirt didn't hurt anymore. Even the dryness of her throat and mouth didn't bother her at all as she climbed over the trench. But being outside the hole wasn't enough. She wanted to see more. So much more. Her eyes quickly scanned the area before landing on the range of small hills that turned into a huge mountain. Surely those would be enough to let her see it all.

Ignoring the weight on her back—a burden forever attached—she dragged herself out to the hills and began climbing. Her strong hands and calloused feet bled from the stone's edge as climbed a mountainside that became steeper and steeper. But she didn't care.

She wanted to see it.

Her yearning brought her to the top of the small mountain soon enough and once there, she ran without a care to the edge where the whole view was hers for the taking.

" _You're here now, Noé, so please, be careful. You've climbed much too high."_

"It's okay!" Noé whispered passively as she stood on the edge of that cliff. Her hands came up to the necklace that rested at her bosom, a silver arrowhead on a black leather strap, and smiled as her fingers caressed it. "Look, Chief! It's—It's—"

"The sky!"

It was the bluest sky she'd ever seen. Nothing, not even the sky from before, compared to the blue sky that she saw now. Spotted with white, fluffy clouds, and with small creatures flying about in its far blue distance.

Noé lifted her arm and reached her hand skyward. Touch it. If only she could. Her heart soared making her chuckle giddily, her laughter as bubbly as the clouds above her were fluffy. She jumped wanting to reach further but the weight behind her dragged her to the ground again. Pouting, Noé jumped over and over but would just be dragged down again by its weight.

_Come on, stupid. Come on! Reach! REACH!_

" _Noé, watch out!"_

Having scrunched her eyes tightly with each jump, Noé hadn't seen how those hops brought her closer to the cliff's edge. Hearing Chief call out to her on that last jump made her open her eyes and see that no more floor was beneath her.

_Crap!_

Noé scrambled to reach the edge of the cliff she'd left behind but she was too slow. The edge slipped through her fingertips and she quickly began falling. The wind raced past her, whistling in her ears as she held tightly onto the arrowhead.

_Chief! Chief Romali! Andromalius!_

" _I-I can't do anything! You can't equip!"_

"Damnit! Activate! Activate you good-for-nothing thing!" Noé screamed at the top of her lungs.

But just as she yelled that into the high heavens, her face began burning with an intensity that she couldn't describe. Clutching at the right side of her face, Noé groaned at the pain but was more surprised to see the bright orange bubble form around her. Before she could even think it, she felt its pull and felt it bounce a second later as it hit against the ground. Like a bubble of glass, the orange sphere burst into tiny fragments before disappearing completely leaving her astounded on the ground.

"T-That was close," Noé stammered with a chuckle to hide her nervousness. One hand still clutching at her face and the other the arrowhead as she raised herself from the ground.

" _Too close, kid! Don't do something so idiotic like that again, you hear!"_

"Loud and clear." Noé snickered to herself as she felt the heat leave her face. What a save that'd been. Too bad it left her more parched than before. Smacking her lips and wetting them with her tongue proved useless too. "I need a drink."

" _You need rest."_ Chief reminded her about her bleeding feet and hands. Right. She was hurt and bleeding.  _"I think I saw some smoke rising not far from here. Head there and pray they're not bad guys."_

"Bad guys?" Noé repeated as she started off on her way, completely forgetting about the bunch of gold she left behind. Chief Romali scolded her then, shouting obscenities in her head and making her run back for some gold coins and gems before leaving. Well on her way now, Noé sneezed and wiped her face with her dirty forearm. "Say Chief, you think this place has bad people too?"

" _Wouldn't doubt it. Take care of yourself and be sure to train with me when you get the chance. You can't rely on that cursed thing forever, you know? Are you even listening to me?!"_

"Yes, yes," she repeated but carelessly skipped ahead all the while ignoring her aching feet. Surely, it'd stop hurting. Not her throat though; that never went away. Plus she was way too thirsty. She'd need to get to whomever was at that fire soon. "A'ight, then. Let's go, Chief! There's a huge world out there just waiting for me!"

_And it won't slip away from me this time!_

Noé lifted her head and watched the blue sky that oversaw her. Reaching her hand skyward, she squealed and jumped up before going off on a run towards the smoke that rose out into that same beautiful blue sky.

— **{i}—**

" **How I hate that sky."**

* * *

| **ii. Adult** |

Slim fingers strummed a couple of tight strings along the hollow instrument and the soft notes played into a jolly tune. Not wanting to sing this time around, she opted to simply hum under her breath as she strummed the instrument, holding its neck, and tapping her foot as she sat at the edge of a concrete slab. The metal on her sandals clinked loudly to keep time with her music and both noises began to soon grab the attention of passersby as they quickly became onlookers.

Her emerald eyes gleaned the audience before her curiously. They were mostly parents whose children urged them to stop so they could hear the tune and dance to it. The children were clapping along and singing out off tune while the women smiled gleefully at the entertainment given, the soft but jovial tune enough to placate their tired minds from their busy day.

Grinning at the children's dancing and singing, the woman slowed her strumming down even more as the song ended. The children cried aws of disappointment but when their mothers or companions started to clap, they followed suit. The player stood and bowed slightly—their long drape, which she wore properly on her right arm but left loose on her left as the ends of it were tied into a knot, sweeping against the floor—a toothy grin coming from ear to ear as she strapped the instrument behind her back.

Some of them, those that appeared the freer and richer ones of this town or that were travelers with money, tossed a couple of copper coins at her feet. One even a silver. She picked them up and waved a hand over her head gratefully.

"Thanks a lot!" Her voice lilted with her words, the accent quite noticeable, but the onlookers didn't seem to mind and left before long, leaving her to pick up the coins they offered for the show. As she went along picking the ones that rolled away, a certain silver coin hid when a foot fell on top of it as she bent to pick it up.

"Watch where you're going. Damn whore." Before she even got the chance to step aside, the man who spoke shoved her and although she didn't have a problem gaining her footing again, it did peeve her greatly that he didn't even excuse himself.

She was about to chew him off when the clanking of metal chains brought to her attention the slave train that the man had behind him. They were all females, from women in their prime to young girls, and they were all connected by their collars and the shackles around their ankles. The man sneered at her before pulling the one end in his hand, forcefully dragging them behind him and berating the girls that cried.

The woman stood, the silver coin forgotten, as her eyes followed the slave train and trained on the man that had spat on her and continued to do so on the women he dragged around. Her grip hardened as her fingers curled into a fist over and over, but as she did so a voice reached to the back of her mind.

" _Don't, Noé. Killing him won't help."_

_But he'll be dead, Chief. How does that_ not _help?_

" _It won't free them. They'll just go to another owner. You can't right the wrong with another wrong, kid."_

Noé rolled her eyes but accepted that Chief was right. Even if they were freed by her deeds—justly done or otherwise—they would just be recaptured by another slave trader and sold off again. They were in Qishan after all, a slave trading center . She regretted having to stop at the oasis but after having finished the water she'd rationed off after fighting off some desert hyacinth on the way there, she needed the brief rest and hydration.

Smacking her lips at the reminder, she went back and picked up her silver, tossing it in the air on her way to the only place she trusted to give her a humble stay. With those prospects filling her mind, she skipped her way to the red light district.

— **{ii}—**

" _I will never understand your tastes."_

"It's not about understanding them. It's about enjoying!"

Noé gleefully took another swig of the cup of wine the girls around her kept serving her. Their company was something she always welcomed and because she was used to the odd looks shop owners usually gave her, it never bothered her. The girls weren't judgemental. Most of the time, they appreciated her more than the male customers since all she was there for was the endless complimentary wine and water they offered with the time bought.

The gorgeous company was just an added bonus.

"More wine, miss?" a pretty brunette cheerfully asked, holding up a jug.

Noé nodded but then quickly shook it, thinking better of it. "Water, darling, please. My head's coming loose already as it is. I'd like to be able to walk out of here without help."

Another girl, a blonde this time that sat beside her, chuckled and reached over to the food before their table for her. "But miss, you've barely had four glasses. Surely another wouldn't harm someone like you."

"Believe me, it will." She chortled at that and drank the last of it. Her eyes scanned over the rim of her glass and she choked a bit as she quickly drank what was in her mouth before motioning to the brunette who brought her the single jug of water back. "Oh, darling, I'm gonna need much more than one. Spare your beautiful legs and our time some, and get help to bring more."

"How many more, miss?"

She didn't skip a beat. "Let's start with seven."

The girl's stopped for a minute but Noé ignored them and simply served herself while they took that in. After experiencing that same reaction from so many others, she learned to let it go like a lot of other things people found strange about her.

" _I thought you weren't going to waste time this time around."_

Chief's nagging voice didn't dampen her mood, or at least she didn't let it as she downed her cup in one swig.

_Let me rest. We just crossed the damn sea and desert to get here._

" _Which would make me think you'd be more eager about entering it after six months without another in sight."_

Chief was actually not wrong there. After the six months it took to travel from Reim to Qishan, there had only been one dungeon to come across and it was her original target. Not one of those damn structures came to exist from there to here which did succeed in dampening her spirits. But she shook it off faster than it got to her.

_No biggie. We still got to Qishan and no one has conquered the old man. We just need to find some go-getter and get them through it to talk to him. All's well that ends well._

" _That's the thing, kid. This isn't over yet. Not by a long shot."_

Noé knew that more than anybody. Heaving a heavy sigh that she hated having let out, she took one of the jugs and instead of filling her cup she took the one swig from the container itself, emptying it in a couple of minutes. Full for now, she asked one of the girls beside her to pass her her small, handmade lute.

"Oh miss, you play?" One of them asked as Noé jesterly plucked at the strings, tuning as she went.

"That I do." Once done she lifted her gaze to look at all of the eight girls around her—that's more than she remembered asking for. "You girls want to hear a song?"

All of them clapped and cheerfully agreed and she happily obliged to their wishes as she began to pluck a ballad. Her humming went along with it as her lean fingers plucked each note, the music telling of the longing a lover falling for a woman he knew he would never have. The pain and anguish he knew of each and everyday of his life as he desperately wanted the most beautiful woman in the world to know of his love for her. Of how he would give anything and everything to have her in his arms. The girls clung to each other as she played, swooning over the gentle, lovesick song.

But over the sound of her own playing, Noé heard some interesting words. "Hey, they have djinn metal vessels in dungeons, right?"

_Oh?_  Could her job actually be that easy?

"Y-Yeah." There was a lag in her hearing as she realized herself missing a note in the song which she rapidly corrected before the girls noticed. By the time she managed to play by heart in order to catch the conversation from before, she only caught the tail end of it. "So that means that you're coming with me, right?"

"Yes!"

_Bingo. Found my way out._

Now she could truly relax. Strumming her song to an end, she rapped at the strings which caught the girls by surprise and made them look up to her.  _Ah, there's twelve now._  "Let's play something more danceable, yeah?"

The hostesses' all cooed their agreements and that lifted Noé's spirits even higher as she began a much gaudier song that certainly brought attention to her small harem. Despite that, though, she enjoyed watching the girls having fun as they danced for her and with each other. Letting herself play out of memory, Noé wondered what news she would get this time from this dungeon.

" _Hopefully some good news. That and some directions."_

_To what?_

" _To where the sane part of your brain went. I'd like to know that very much."_

Noé couldn't keep the chortle that escaped her. "You're too much, chief!" How she loved her sense of humor.

— **{ii}—**

There wasn't a lot much to do in Qishan. That's something she noticed quickly after a couple of days of waiting in front of the dungeon's staircase. She visited the shops and replenished her supplies while entertaining with her lute for money to pass time but aside from that, there wasn't really anything to do. Qishan truly was only an oasis city meant to be a respite from the desert. A brief respite. Well, at least for her, it'd be a big gain.

Or so she was hoping for. Tinkering with the silver arrowhead that laid on her bosom, Noé patiently waited at the sidelines for those intrepid divers she overheard in the shop the other day. Something told her they had most likely chickened out and fled after two days—namely, Chief—but her gut told her to wait a little longer. Besides, if time were gold, Noé would have enough to buy the world a thousand times over.

" _Even your time shouldn't be waste, Noé."_

Laying back against the pillar, she huffed as she placed her arms over her eyes to get some shut eye. "Time isn't wasted when the outcome is worthwhile, Chief. Trust me. If it irks you so, think of it as an investment."

Chief repeated the last word begrudgingly making her chuckle lowly. It was as she laid down that she heard fast treading feet coming towards the dungeon and voices that made her grin at recognizing them briefly.

"I don't see those police guys anymore!"

"Hey look! I see the dungeon entrance straight ahead!"

_Oh-ho, look who was right after all._

Chief scoffed in the back of her mind.  _"That makes it what, 137 times out 356?"_

_139 but who's counting._

Bickering behind them, Noé waited to hear the two travellers go in first before she bothered getting up. She stretched to relax her stiff muscles after the couple of hours idle before she started for the entrance but stopped herself when she caught sight of the group that was heading straight for the dungeon entrance. It was a large group of people. Out of the bunch, one man stood out in particular, and although he didn't give off any good vibes to her, she let him and his entourage go by. Many of the other people that saw him stared bewildered as the man and the rest entered without a qualm. Whispers picked up immediately after they disappeared.

"Was that—"

"It was."

"But why would Lord Jamil go dungeon diving?"

Jamil? The name didn't ring any bells. Noé shrugged her shoulders; surely no one important, she thought, as she skipped the steps up to the entrance.

" _Is that really okay, Noé? To have the master slave trader of Qishan pursue such a powerful object as a metal vessel."_

So that's who he was. The name still didn't ring a bell. The title sure did though. The owner of Qishan and master slave trader in this tiny oasis, Noé had heard about him in passing conversations, mostly how known he was for being a monster to his slaves.

"It's no concern of ours who captures the dungeon, Chief," she reminded her, "all that matters is that we have a way out. But you're right, a master slave trader gaining that power would be problematic. But I'll deal with that bridge if and when I cross it."

Frankly, even if the man managed to somehow make it to the treasure room, Noé wouldn't allow such scum of the world to be master of a djinn or to obtain the power to become a king. Pieces of junk like those didn't deserve that privilege. So if it came down to it, she would just give the old geezer one less candidate to worry about.

The sigh that Chief gave dragged on.  _"I'll never understand why you don't just conquer them."_

That was easy.

_No one should have that much power._

"Besides—" she exclaimed with pleasure as she gave the entrance her back, "—I have you, Chief! And I never want any other djinn but you." And like that, she let herself fall back in through the dungeon entrance.

— **{ii}—**

Darken caves of red dirt. Glowing flora and morphing insects. Yeah, this definitely rung a bell. Noé looked over the walls as she strolled through the inside of the dungeon. Said walls were carved with markings, human and otherwise, and by the time she reached the first maze and obstacle, she could tell that many had already attempted to conquer it.

" _It's been ten years since it rose. It's not really surprising."_

"I suppose," she replied. Right way, right way. Her eyes scanned the huge dome-like space that rose above her, even letting some light in from the thin crust that cracked on the ceiling of the cave which bent and glistened around her. Noé stood briefly to let the rays touch her skin but grimaced at realizing that it wasn't real sunlight. It was just firelight. It always bothered her that dark places, especially dungeons, limited her powers so much.

Wanting to get out as soon as possible, Noé picked a tunnel at random and headed into it. Chief immediately spoke against it.  _"It could be dangerous."_

"What danger am I in when I can use you?" she inquired. That quieted her djinn's protests and let her freely walk into her tunnel of choice.

But by the end of it, she noted that it had been the wrong one as molten insects met her at the dead end she'd stumbled upon.

" _Idiot."_

Noé didn't listen though and remained still as the insects snapped their jaws at her. She stood still and measured the creatures for a bit, watching as they decided to join together into an even larger amalgamate. But even then she didn't see a need to act and remained still. It wasn't until they were inches away from her face that the creature halted, molten bits falling off its face as it stilled. A multitude of whimpers were heard as the amalgamate ruptured into the tiniest insects that quickly scurried to hide in their homes.

Chief huffed but Noé simply held her smile as she spun on her heels and walked back out, intent on taking a different tunnel.

" _They're our natural prey. Backing off in the presence of a predator is normal."_

Which is exactly why she wasn't worried and why she knew traversing through the old man's dungeon would be a breeze for her. But after the fourth wrong try, Chief suggested to actually think to solve the puzzle of the maze instead of guessing if she wanted to reach the treasure room in time. Agreeing, it took her a few minutes to finally find the one tunnel that wasn't marked and unexplored.

The trek after that took longer and when she finally exited to caves, the dragon's jaws waited for her on the other extreme. The stone plaque read a cryptic message that she didn't bother fully reading and instead picked up the heftiest rock she found to carry along as she stepped into the jaws and began counting under her breath each step she took from there onward.

" _You know you can die too, right?"_

Her overly serious tone made Noé chuckled. "...46...Of course, I do. But I don't need to read the riddle when I know the answer. ...57..." Once she got to 79 steps, she stopped and tossed the rock further into the tunnel. The pressure of it made pillars of fire shoot from the ground and sides. Surely whoever stepped unawares would have ended charred. Thankfully, she knew better. She waited for the pillars to stop and only then ran to one of the tunnels and slid inside before the trapdoor closed. Instantly, she hugged the wall and waited to see the one open at the bottom before she lunged at it to dodge the spikes that would've skewered her. Rolling to a stop, she posed with her arms over her head and grinned, "Ten outta ten!"

" _Not even close."_

"What are you talking about?!" she cried indignantly.

" _Take a look at your drape."_

Noé blinked and took the tied off end of her drape, gasping at seeing a tear at the end of the knot. "H-How…?"

" _You lunged a little too late."_

Damn. Well, she guessed she could always improve and also get the drape mended later. For now, she managed to get into the tunnels and that'd been her goal. Going through the entrails of the dragon after it's jaws should be a piece of cake. What sucked, though, was having to go at it in a crawl. Sometimes, she hated being a couple inches short of six feet. She went through it though, and crawled through until she reached the end of the maze and the dragon's tail. On the open space, Noé was surprised to find the door to the necropolis open already.

She whistled impressed. "They're fast."

" _Hurry. If they're inside already, then they're not far from the treasure room."_

There was that. Quickening her step to a jog, Noé entered and went about running from rooftop to rooftop towards the grand tower that was in the middle of the city. Instinctively, she stopped for a second to let her eyes wander and she saddened at seeing the city as it was. Downcast, desolate, lifeless. What a pity.

" _Focus, Noé."_

"Right," she muttered. Swiftly and within minutes, she reached the treasure room but apparently had taken her sweet time for too long. Fighting had broken out between two different factions, it seemed. From what she could see there were only five people there aside from her. Two fought nearest to the entrance and were the blond kid she'd followed from the shop and the lord of Qishan. The latter frantically swung his sword while the young boy remained collected and fought with good swordsmanship. The other fight she saw in the distance was what bothered her.

It was the other young boy, the one that accompanied the blond, and he was fighting against a red haired girl. And by the smell of it, it wasn't just any girl.

"Morgiana!" The massive distance she managed to cover with the one jump when her name was called only proved it to her: the kid was a Fanalis. And the blond could only take getting slammed against a pillar before it came to be too much.

Jamil boasted the pain the young Fanalis caused him before torturing the boy. Then he ordered her to kill him. With that, Noé had heard enough.

" _I know you dislike it but keep your composure. You're powers are limited here."_

"I'll keep it brief." In an instant, she flashed from her place and appeared before the blond to keep Jamil and the Fanalis Morgiana at bay. Needing sincerity in her smile, Noé focused on Morgiana as she spoke. "I'd appreciate it if there wasn't any more bloodshed, my dear."

But that smile fell when Jamil was the one that spoke instead. "W-Who are you!? You wench, how did you get here?"

"You don't have to listen to him, Morgiana," she softly spoke. Although she knew this was a longshot and that it wouldn't be easy, she had to try to calm her and make her see herself as free. "As ingrained as obeying may be in you, you must fight it."

"Shut up, bitch! Morgiana, kill him!"

The girl took another step forward.

Noé got her grin back as she now stood only a few feet in front of the young Fanalis. "It's a shame, Morgiana. If you're willingly following orders from the piece of junk that's stealing our air then I pity you. Especially when I can still see pride deep-seated in those eyes of yours. The eyes of a Fanalis." For an instant, she saw those piercing ruby eyes widen. "And such a proud people you are."

"Kill her, Morgiana!"

Noé saw the dim light in those red eyes die an instant before she saw her kick aimed at her. Barely having enough time to react, she managed to create a strong enough crystal shield to last the hit but it didn't ameliorate the full brunt of it as it actually drove her to the side quite a distance. The light particles she'd forced to join into solid crystals shattered into nothing, disappearing back into light and draining a whole lot of her magoi.

Damn, how she hated fighting in dimly lit places. And as distracted as she was from that drainage of magoi, Noé failed to notice Morgiana raising her sword ready to impale the blond. Before she got to though, something disintegrated the blade of the sword completely. Noé followed where she could barely see the reflection of the rukh's wings against the dim light to a boy, the other boy. One with plaited blue hair and large blue eyes.

Noé stood back as the little boy walked past her and to the blond. Following after him, she watched as the other—Alibaba—looked up as the blue-haired boy asked him if he was okay. He was beaten and cut but he would live thankfully. Rising from his place with Alibaba, the young boy glanced up at Noé.

"Thank you for trying to stop them, onee-san."

Before she could answer, he turned to Jamil and stretched out his open hand. "Give me back my flute." But he refused, playing the idiot and simpleton that he really was. The boy insisted. "My flute, give it back to me."

It was when he refused a second time, claiming that he'd have to take it by force, that the boy obliged. He raised his staff and out of the blue, Noé felt a disturbance in her surroundings. Ridiculous amounts of rukh—amounts she'd only seen a handful able to manipulate—gathered at the tip of the stone cane the boy raised above his head. Shock marred her face as the boy's attack got deviated by Morgiana's kick, making the wall that got targeted explode instead.

_What the hell is this kid?_

But she knew the answer before she even thought it. The fact that she could so clearly see the rukh as it flew erratically in a whirlwind around him was answer enough. No other being could control the rukh of the world like that.

"...he's a magi."

But her thoughts halted all at once when she saw the expression on his face change drastically and become one deeply sated with disdain directed at the little lord of Qishan. It was the mere look, so reminiscent of another, that made her actually fear for her life after such a long time.

And even though Jamil said he understood what a magi was, his stupid boasting of Morgiana as his Fanalis slave as he ordered the boy to submit to him only showed how little he really understood. Noé knew that not even a Fanalis was a match against a magi. And she was proven right when Morgiana lunged at him only to be swept away by a ball of magoi that glued her to the high ends of a pillar.

The sheer amount of control he had was astounding, but the fact that he was only shooting off magoi told her a little about the boy. A magi he may be but he wasn't knowledgeable in actual magic. At least he wasn't showing any if he knew it. Soon enough, he got the flute he'd been asking for and at last devastated Jamil in his hopes of becoming a king.

_Good. All the damn weeds that dirty this garden are nothing but pieces of junk that don't deserve to exist. As a matter of fact, let me do the honors._

" _Not in front of the magi, Noé."_

For once, she listened to Chief and instead took a few steps back to give the couple of friends some privacy. As he helped Alibaba up, Noé overheard him call the boy Aladdin which rang a rather ingrained bell in her mind. One she had no way of verifying. Not wanting to be over enthused about it, she approached them and reached out a hand. The two stopped before her and she gave them a smile.

"I just want to help. He must be heavy for you to carry alone."

Alibaba was the first to ask, "W-Who are you?"

"My name is Noé." Without waiting for their answer, she took Alibaba's other arm and flung it over her shoulders to help carry his weight. Tall as she was, she had to bend a bit to accommodate. "I didn't come with that brat, so don't worry. I don't intend to harm you."

"I know," Aladdin agreed with a soft smile before turning to Alibaba. "Noé onee-san protected you from the other miss until I woke up." He rubbed at the back of his head instinctively, "That hurt."

"You're lucky to be alive after that kick," Noé told him as she adjusted Alibaba. "But nevermind that, I believe you came here to look for something." When Alibaba gave her a look that screamed of his fear of the treasure being stolen away, she laughed. "And don't worry, I want nothing out of this. Only to talk to someone."

"Talk to someone?" Aladdin repeating those words made his flute begin to glow and when he blew on it, a ray of light shot straight to a pot. She helped them get to it and when Aladdin touched it, the magic stored in it burst out into a pillar of fire as the djinn in the metal vessel showed itself.

"Who is it… Who wants to be king?" The djinn was way too big for the cave itself and shrunk once it saw its candidates. Once smaller, it noticed Aladdin and bowed respectfully before him. By the looks of it, the kid didn't know how important his existence was. Out of the blue, Aladdin's flute shook and from it sprung a blue djinn, one that although she couldn't see the face of, she knew exactly who it was.

_How?_

But she soon thought the question useless. If he left the Sacred Palace behind to accompany the boy then Noé's suspicions were more than verified. Mentally exhausted from that hit, Noé laughed and fell to a sit on the floor with her legs crossed.

She muttered to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. "...unbelievable…"

"Onee-san?" She waved a hand dismissively at Aladdin's call so he wouldn't bother with her. There wasn't anything wrong, she just short circuited for a bit there. She regained what mind she'd lost for that brief moment and stood back up as both djinn turned to face them. Out of nowhere, he began to shy away not out of embarrassment, she was sure, but out of remorse when he noticed her there. "Ugo-kun?"

"There's no need to feel ashamed. I'm not mad," she assured him and stood back up from her seat. "I never was." This seemed to calm him down, his body relaxing a moment before he reached out one finger to ruffle her head. The action shocked her and it made her chuckle childishly once she regained her composure.

As he lifted his finger away, the old geezer Amon spoke to her as he stroke his beard. "Lord Ugo says that he's glad you have enjoyed your time in the world."

"I am too."

"And he must ask, what have you come here to do?"

For the first time, Noé gave her answer a long thought. There hadn't ever been a doubt in her, really, but she also didn't want to worry him with all that's happened ever since she came to be.

" _Telling him wouldn't hurt."_

_True._

"I'm looking for my friends. They can help me get rid of the malice and darkness that's been spreading around the world and making so many suffer."

Ugo moved around in makeshift charades and Amon nodded his head as if understanding the djinn and translated to her. "He asks if that really is what you want their help for?" The blatant suggestion that she lied hurt her but she couldn't blame him. Being cautious was a very respectable trait to have.

" **Don't tell him the truth."**

Noé gave him a sincere grin and nodded. "Of course it is! It's our job to take care of this world after all."

Ugo doesn't respond or say anything to that. Noé didn't know whether he believed her or not but even if he didn't, she didn't care. Their conversation stopped there, apparently, as Amon introduced himself to them to tell them that they have cleared his dungeon. Noé knew what would come of it; he'd finally be able to choose a king and leave this place.

" _Take the chance, Noé. You'll need more power to do what you wish to do."_

_I know._  But she didn't want to depend on the powers of djinn. Powers she knew wouldn't help her when it came down to it. Only those aligned to her own could give her a stronger fighting chance. And Chief Andromalius was just that.

She watched over Alibaba who began to gather as much treasure as he could and chuckled. On the other hand, she only heard parts of what Amon explained to Aladdin about his role as a magi and pitied the boy. Magi or not, his existence was much more than that. Coming closer to Aladdin, Noé reached out and ruffled his head. "Thank you for letting me speak with Ugo, little  _princas._ "

His brow furrowed at the odd nickname but instead he asked about something else. "You know Ugo-kun, onee-san? How?"

She smiled warmly at him, knowing that that wasn't a tale for her to tell. "It's a secret. But I'll tell you this, little magi," she said lowering her voice as she crouched before him to be at his eye-level, "I'm someone you can always consider a friend. No matter what you choose to do, no matter the side you choose to fight for, I will be by your side and support you,  _princas._ "

"P-P-P." When he couldn't pronounce the word, he sighed and shook his head, a meek smile on his face. "My name's Aladdin." He stretched his hand out to her. "And I'd be glad to be your friend, Noé onee-san."

"Likewise, Aladdin," she added as she stood back up to take his handshake. "It'd be a real pleasure to be friends with you."

Out of the blue, the dungeon began to shake around them and that concerned her greatly. Amon's declaration only made that concern more tangible. Someone was trying to collapse the dungeon from the outside. Not wanting to stay, she helped Aladdin with his bag of gold and carried it to the pillar of light that Amon created. But when Amon asked the little Fanalis whether she wanted to stay or leave, Noé found herself looking back at the girl who stood literally stranded between her saving herself and following a dogma beaten into her.

Even when Aladdin and Alibaba cried out for her to leave him behind, she didn't listen and struggled to decide whether to save the piece of trash that had owned her. Thankfully, the other slave that Jamil had brought snapped her to her senses and freed her from the chains that held her down. But by then the pillar was starting to move already and even when the boys begged Amon to delay it for Morgiana, he couldn't.

Noé didn't hesitate and didn't even gauge her remaining magoi before flashing herself out of the pillar and to Morgiana. Grabbing her wrist, Noé ignored the sane part that told her that this would leave her magoi reservoir exhausted and transported the two of them inside the pillar once more just before it shot through the exit that Amon had created. The familiar pressure of the dungeon's portal fell on her and when she opened her eyes, she found herself alone in a single pillar of light that was heading back to their world.

Despite how exhausted she was, Noé held a satisfied grin on her lips as she laid on the floor of the portal, covering her eyes with her forearm. Silence reigned over the space around until Chief's voice reached her.

" _I thought you decided to tell him the truth. Why did you lie?"_

"I didn't," she replied. "I only omitted some of it. Besides, the overall objective doesn't change. I do want to rid the world of all the evil and darkness in it. And I do need them."

" _Then why not tell him that you intend to use them to release Teosa?"_

"Because…" She didn't bother finishing that statement. Andromalius knew very well why she didn't mention that to Ugo.

If she had...he would've been so sad. And she didn't want to be the one to cause that.

Wanting to talk about something else, Noé sat up and looked down to the city below as it became smaller and smaller the closer they got to returning to their world. "I'm thinking about following little  _princas._ "

" _The magi? How come?"_

"Duty, I guess. I mean, Master Teosa respected  _him_  a lot. And she loved  _her_. Certainly making sure Aladdin travels safely would be something she'd want."

Chief remained quiet for a second before speaking up again. Her tone this time, though, was much more serious than before.  _"You are not tied to that world anymore. Look up, child."_ Doing as she was told, Noé looked skyward to where the portal was nearing the world more and more.  _"That's your new home. That's where you belong now._ "

"I know," she whispered and dropped her eyes to the vastness of nothingness that stood between both worlds. Letting go of all the seriousness of the moment, she stretched her arms above her head languidly and smiled. "It's decided then. I'll go with him."

Chief let out a heavy sigh in the back of her mind which she promptly ignored. Her djinn didn't bother with her anymore after that and simply let her travel back in peace. A bright light swallowed her whole and made her close her eyes as she was teleported back to the world. Once she felt the softness of grass underneath her legs, Noé opened her eyes but was perplexed as to why there were so much grass and woods in Qishan now. She grimaced at realizing what happened after being teleported back.

"It took us somewhere else."

Back to normal and no longer discontent with her, Chief sighed one last time before replying.  _"It must have. And by the looks of it, we're no longer near any deserts. What are you going to do now?"_

"That's a good question!"

She stood up from her seat on the grass and stretched as she basked in the sunlight that hit her olive skin. Brushing the dust off the drape, she adjusted the right side so that it was still firmly on over herself but didn't bother with the left one, the sleeve hanging loosely around her elbow. She made sure the knot at the end was tightly secured along with the inside covered in feathers of crimson and gold that seemingly stuck to it. She adjusted the red obi around her waist and adjusted the bulk on her back that ran beneath her drape while she was at it. The white dress she wore hadn't dirtied in all the commotion, thankfully; she inspected it briefly and only stopped to settle the arrowhead over the exposed part of her chest left by the open design of the dress. Lastly, she checked on her sandals that ran up along her leg up to just below her knees, tapping them against the ground to get rid of the sand that happened to get caught.

Everything was in order. Reaching up, Noé took large handfuls of auburn hair in her hands and pulled the halves apart to tighten her high ponytail before letting the voluminous curls fall into place as they would. She fixed the thin gold diadem on her forehead before she fixed her eyes over the horizon, their color the same emerald as that of the nature that surrounded her.

"To which I have no answer whatsoever! So we might as well start walking."

" _What happened to helping the magi?"_

"Can't really do that when I don't know where he is, can I?" Chief didn't bother replying which made Noé chuckle. "I'll help him whenever we come across him again. And since he's searching for metal vessels and their djinn too then we're bound to meet him again eventually anyway. So there's not really anything to worry about."

" _That we certainly will."_  Chief paused for a second.  _"So where to now?"_

"To wherever the rukh may guide us." With that cheesy and philosophical spiel given, she snickered and started walking, letting her feet take her where they may.

* * *

**|i|**

Sharp yet childish emerald eyes stared owlishly at the grand structure that sunk into the seafloor from her boat, letting waterfalls emerge where even oceans once were. Albeit being only a few miles from the village she'd just left, the area was desolate and barren. Ever since word spread across the nearby countries about 'the ocean floor sinking,' speculations took hold of the logical and superstitions of the gullible.

Men of some parts said the floor moved and caused this. Some others claim that god himself parted the sea to allow this.

But Noé knew better. This was a dungeon. And if she found where its metal vessel laid, she would find the djinn that dwelled it in.

"Who do you think it is?" Her thoughts scattered everywhere as she rowed her tiny boat closer to the edge of the ocean that the dungeon had created. The sound of rushing water was deafening which made her shout the closer they got.

" _That it rose in the ocean narrows it somewhat. Maybe Vinea, she's always been fond of the sea. Camio as well. The lunatic of Gaap did too but only for pranking others."_  Noé chuckled to herself at hearing Chief groan when saying that.  _"Those are the names that come off the top of my head. Far from exhaustive."_

"I know," she said. Forgetting their conversation, she focused more on how her boat began to tilt forward as it began to pass the edge of the waterfall.

" _You're not going to equip?"_

"Where's the fun in that?" she screamed gleeful as the boat tipped vertically and fell down the waterfall. Gravity took over, the water sprinkling upward from the speed the air was coming at her, and the excitement got her to raise her hands over her head and cheer. Just as the bottom begin to come closer, Noé jumped out of the boat and into the water below, separating herself from it to avoid any accidents, as she took the dive.

Excitement bubbled anew in her chest after that thrill but her lungs asked for air soon enough and made her start her swim towards the surface. The makeshift shawl around her shoulders and neck though, made it quite the chore to swim quickly as the feathers added a lot of extra weight to her small adolescent body. After some struggle, Noé managed to break through the surface and took a big gulp of air as she continued to paddle hard to keep herself and that extra weight afloat.

_Heavy._

" _Feathers weigh when they're wet, you idiot."_

Disregarding Chief's chastising, her eyes scanned the nearby area and quickly found a marbled shore to swim to. Slipping once or twice, she pulled herself out of the water and rolled over onto her back to let herself rest for a second.

"This is a...dungeon, you said?"

The stranger's voice that echoed through the ocean valley made her eyes snap wide open. Wary, she scurried away as fast as her tired legs let her to one of the tall columns keeping the edifice standing. The voice had belonged to a man's. A young man maybe some years younger than her.

"Mm!" This one was different. Still male but it was much younger; a small boy's. "Here is where you'll find the power to become king!"

_How does he know that?_

Footsteps resounded against marble for a few minutes as the two strangers continued to talk, a bright light shone from beyond her hiding spot, and silence came a moment later. Sensing it safe to step out, Noé made her makeshift shawl again before going out to view the whole of the dungeon's entrance. Not far was the door that glowed brilliantly.

Not wasting a second, she took a few steps back before taking a running start at the entrance. The light engulfed her and she covered her eyes only to open them once she fell against solid ground once more.

Water. There was water everywhere. The walls that made the cave were coral of many different colors that glimmered like jewels. All kinds of shells, even ones that the world outside didn't have, were strewn about on the floor and where much bigger than those she found in beaches or jetties in their world.

Coming closer to one that was just about half her size, Noé poked it curiously a couple of times before it started shaking. A colorful snail popped out of the opening, its large eyes scanning its surroundings until they saw her and startled. The snail panicked and began to haul itself away from her but the fact that it wasn't even moving despite its valiant effort made Noé pity the thing. Wanting to lend a hand, she mockingly pulled back her short sleeves and began pushing the shell as hard as she could. Soon it budged and with how slippery the floor where it'd been, it slid through the sleek ground easily and fell into the small pond that was only a few feet away. Dusting her hands off, she grinned accomplished. But when the room started to tremble, a very bad feeling went down her spine.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that."Just as she said that, the water began to ripple and from it a monstrous slug emerged that lifted itself before halloring, sharpen teeth baring from its mouth-belly. From behind it, the snail she'd push inside hid with tears in its eyes and a bruise on one eye. Fresh.

" _You think?"_  Chief called sarcastically.

Slowly, Noé took a few steps away from the two monsters and watched from the corner of her eyes as many of the other shells began to show their snails. She chuckled nervously as she retreated but froze as cracking came to her ears. Dread sunk into her. It wasn't until she lifted her foot that she saw a tiny broken shell and a snail just as small angrily screeching. Lifting her gaze, Noé froze at being suddenly confronted with the many snails there, big and small.

One last nervous chuckle escaped her before she booked it without looking back even as a loud roar resounded throughout the coral cavern.

" _You idiot!"_ Chief reprimanded while Noé ran avoiding obstacles and other small dungeon creatures on her way.  _"These creatures are very protective of their young!"_

"How the hell was I supposed to know that!?" she shouted as she ran. Suddenly, the floor steeped and one wrong step sent her sliding down. The slope didn't seem to end and it only added to her speed the more time she slid. But with the same suddenness as before, the slope ended and this time there was no floor to break her fall. Just a pit of nothing but ice spikes.

Instinctively, she kicked and grabbed at the air trying to get near the wall. At feeling the cool wall at her fingertips, Noé gave it another push, this time summoning Chief's powers. The light quickly gathered in her closed hand and solidified into a stake of light that pierced the wall. The stake went deep enough that it sunk into the wall until she stopped. Dangling from the one stake, her eyes briefly glanced down and the sight of the spikes so near made her heart sink.

" _Look up, kid."_  Doing so, her eyes widened at seeing an opening far to the right some good distance away.  _"Can you flash to it?"_

"N-No," she grunted adjusting her slipping grip. Without a clear visual of where she wanted to go, flashing now could very well land her at the spikes she was trying to avoid. Another idea quickly came to her. "Help me."

The warmth from the silver arrowhead told her that Chief was ready and with that she concentrated on creating the same stakes of light in her other hand and underneath the soles of her bare feet. Slamming one after the other, she plunged the stakes against the sleek wall and began to climb towards the opening. It would take awhile to climb the full distance to the edge of it and being this high up with the danger still below her unnerved her plenty. So as soon as her eyes caught sight of at least the inner wall of the opening, she used her powers and flashed. Disappearing in the blinking light, she reappeared with another blink against the wall and fell onto the floor, her feet dangling just off the edge. Scurrying away from it, Noé breathed heavily and grabbed at the right-side of her face from the burning sensation left behind.

" _You alright?"_

Noé nodded and gulped, trying and failing to make her parched throat any less dry. Dungeon diving was hard. Looking back into the tunnel, she crawled through it wanting to find an exit. The thing got smaller and smaller, finally making her crawl her way out on her stomach for the few meters of the tunnel. Once on the other side, she found herself surrounded by more colorful coral but this time it was menacingly shaped into tridents and lances and other weapons. A closer look told her that those were actual weapons and that the coral had actually grown using them as a base. Looking around and finding mounds of coral made goosebumps rise on her arms at the prospect of what those were.

Wanting to get out of that room, Noé continued to walk as she hugged her arms together. "Do you have any idea whose morbid idea of a graveyard this is?"

" _I think I do."_

"Whose is it?" Her tone turned frustrated when she began to notice that there was no exit whatsoever. The graveyard was just a damn circle with no way out. "Where the hell is the damn exit!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs. The sound echoed, her words coming back at her, and as they did her eyes glanced up and widened. Stalactites of coral had fallen from the far off ceiling and were quickly approaching her. Noé did her best to avoid them as they came but as she ran around and looked up, she saw a doorway way up against one wall. Her eyes followed the ruins of what she assumed was the stairway that led to it.

She cursed her luck. But a grin appeared on her lips nonetheless as an idea came to her while watching the stalactites falling.

_Who needs luck when I'm a damn genius?_

Sliding to a stop, she focused her sight on a falling stalactite a brief second before flashing to it. Searching for the next, she flashed upward, leaving trails of fading golden light, and continued her trajectory until she reached the door's height. One last flash took her to other side of the door and she rolled out of her flash, falling to a knee.

Her face burned like the fires of hell and she could feel her head spinning a bit from the sudden dehydration. Feeling her chapped lips and gulping down nothing but dryness in attempts to quell her thirst, she reached back to her gourd and greedily drank away. But after finishing the entirety of it, it still wasn't enough. The only thing that managed to clear was her dizziness; her throat was still dry and her lips just a tad bit less chapped.

But with the dizziness gone it was more than enough to continue. Chief assured her that the treasure room was nearby and that gave her more incentive to go on. After a little over an hour of traversing the dungeon, she finally found herself in front of the treasure room only to find it guarded by a giant crocodile-serpent or whatever hellish thing that was. Hiding behind a mound of purple coral, Noé felt the blood drain from her face and panic slowly set in as she grabbed tightly at her makeshift shawl, the feathers bunching up painfully as she grasped them with her clammy hands.

_A reptile. Of all the things it could have been, it had to be a reptile._

Chief's weary sigh only added to her anxiety.  _"I know what you're thinking but it's not a simple predator-eats-prey world anymore. At least not here. You can defeat it. You have that power now."_

"I'm exhausted, though." Flashing took a lot of magoi out of her and after the trek she took to climb that graveyard from before, she was utterly drained.

" _You're not giving up that easily, are you?"_

Noé furrowed her brow indignantly. Fear and stubbornness clashed as she peeked over to the crocodile and back to the arrowhead that hung from her leather necklace over and over trying to make up her mind. Finally, she dragged her hands down her face and groaned. "I think I have enough for one shot."

" _Make it count then."_

Groaning louder still, Noé snuck around from mound to mound, avoiding the beasts' sight while doing her best to climb to higher grounds. If she wanted to make the shot count, she'd have to put the odds in her favor.

Height was favorable with such a massive behemoth as her target.

Climbing and hiding, she finally reached a place that was just a tad bit higher than the croc's head. Noé took deep breaths to steady her nerves and ready herself.

_You've done this hundreds of times. You've beaten many before, disadvantage and all. Another brute who thinks itself better than you won't be any different._

With her will steeled, her fingers brushed against the silver arrowhead. "Chief." Her answers was the warm of the solid light that gathered at her left hand as a decorative longbow materialized into her grasp. It was orante with whites swirls and encrusted diamonds. It was large enough for a grown adult but after having practiced with it for long enough, even with her smaller stature, Noé wielded it as well as any other bow. No string was visible, only the frame, but as she placed her right hand against the bow and nocked, a thin golden string appeared, as if shimmering into existence, and an arrow made purely of light materialized.

Aiming with both eyes opened, Noé nudged closer to the edge to get a better shot but at doing so knocked a loose end off the edge that noisily fell and caught the crocodile's attention. Brought to a frenzy, it began charging a beam of water in its mouth. Letting go of the arrow, she had no time to think of anything before she found herself jumping off as the beam shot out.

" _Noé!"_

"I got this!" she shouted. Finding herself close enough to the wall, she kicked off from it to give herself momentum. Focused, she felt the moment freeze in place as she concentrated. In one swift motion, she notched the arrow again, took a deep breath to aim, and released the arrow. The light arrow flew, piercing through the air and piercing through the crocodile's head, right between its eyes.

A smile sprouted and she cheered, victorious, a second before she plunged into one of the ponds nearby. Surfacing, her eyes caught the bright light that made the dungeon beast explode. Once gone, the door was clear and opened as she ran up to it. Jumping around, she took a victory lap before getting scolded which only changed the direction of her lap into the treasure room. Or at least that's what she'd call it if any of the things in it were actually worth something. They were just stone replicas of jewelry or trinkets. Worthless.

One thing wasn't, though, and because of Chief it was easy to find. The metal vessel was some kind of sword. Very bulky and very heavy as she tried carrying. But as she let it fall from how hefty it was, an eight-pointed star appeared and from it burst out the djinn.

An instinctive chill ran down her spine as her body readied itself to fight or flee. This one she couldn't help. Noé knew there was no threat to be feared from the djinn but the fact that he looked so reptilian made it inevitable.

"Who wishes to be king?"

" _I was right. Ose, you cheeky bastard,"_  Chief proclaimed and groaned quite loudly.

Ose, the water djinn, glanced about the treasure room until his eyes landed on her. "Young girl, were you the one that called me?"

"Yes!" she called loudly, wanting to be heard.

"You already hold one of my brethren." It was the statement of a mere fact, it seemed like. His aloof expression remained for a moment as he stared at her but suddenly changed into wariness as it shrunk to a less massive being before her. He cringed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Oh boy. You're Andromalius' master."

Noé opened her mouth to confirm this but flinched at the ruckus that Chief was making inside her head, much of which consisted of her calling Ose really bad names. Trying to quiet her by plucking at her ear, Noé grinned. "Y-Yeah. You should hear her too. She sounds really happy to see you."

Ose chuckled nervously and averted his sapphire gaze. "I highly doubt that." Clearing his throat, Ose smiled and motioned at her. "Tell me, girl. Why have you come to conquer my dungeon when you already have Andromalius? Is she not enough? Do you seek more power still?"

At that, she smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't."

Ose's brow furrowed in confusion. "Then what is it that you came for?"

"To talk to you." An eyebrow raised, Noé took the time to explain it to him. "It's my friends. I came to ask you about the recorders."

At hearing that, his eyes widened, a gleam coming to them before a warm and welcoming smile came to his lips. "So that is why," he mused. "You're searching for Safiro and the others. You're Noé, if I recall correctly."

Noé nodded, smiling at being remembered. "Yes." With that she asked again, wanting to know where her friends were if he knew and if not, some clue about them.

Ose's expression turned glum at hearing her request. "I'm deeply sorry, child, but alas, I do not know of their whereabouts." Noé's spirits fell at hearing this. Ose gave her a small smile in return. "But I'm certain that you will find them. Fate being as it is, your selfless support to us won't go unpaid. Have patience, and I'm sure you will meet them again."

Noé nodded but still held her gloomy grin. "Thanks but I kind of hoped for something more than just that."

The djinn shook his head. "Safiro never spoke to me about the work he undertook. I wouldn't be able to tell you what he did or planned to do that would give you any clue on his whereabouts. However—" Noé felt a small wave of hope wash over her at hearing that, "—perhaps the other djinn may know of them and their work more personally. Search on, child, and perhaps they may be able to help you where I couldn't."

Having that tiny hope brightened her spirits made her nod and give a small genuine smile this time. "Thanks, Ose."

"My pleasure, champion."

Noé chuckled nervously, embarrassed at being called that, and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly like he had. "By the way, since we're done talking, do you know how I can get out of the dungeon?"

A grimace came to Ose that didn't bode well with her. "There is no exit, child. The only way to leave a dungeon and return to the world outside is to conquer it."

" _I told you so."_

She hated that she had to admit to not having paid attention when Chief told her that. As she got an earful from Chief, Noé noticed Ose as he tried getting back her attention. "But I might be able to remedy that. Child, you are worthy enough after having made your way here to me. And I'll admit that having a champion as a master would be an honor."

"Thank you for saying that but I'll have to decline." Both Ose and Chief voiced their confusion which made her explain. "As much as I appreciate all that, I have to say that I'm happy enough having only Chief with me. Besides, she's a handful by herself already. I don't think I'm ready to have another little voice in my head nagging me."

Ignoring Chief's bickering, Noé watched as Ose sighed through his nose while smiling warmly. "I understand. However, if that is your choice, then you will have no option but to wait for another to conquer me."

"Then I'll wait!" she replied and plopped right on the floor to sit cross-legged.

"What is that?!"  _Well, that didn't take long._  "W-Who're you? How did you get here by yourself?"

Turning to look over her shoulder, Noé finally got to see the faces of the two strangers she'd overheard at the dungeon entrance. The older boy, a redhead, held a sword in one hand and a broken shield in the other, and like she'd thought from the sound of his voice, he was maybe thirteen or so. Just around her age. The other boy was a tiny little thing. Blond hair so light it almost appeared white with a light shade of gold was gathered into a braid that crowned his head and fell to his hips. Baby blue eyes blinked curious, if not a bit perplexed, as to what she was doing there.

His arm which held a simple wooden staff lowered to his side as he tilted his head inquisitively. "Who are you?"

Noé pursed her lips, very much not wanting to answer that question. Thankfully, Ose interrupted when he bowed at seeing the little blond boy.

"Magi, it's an honor to finally meet you."

"...magi." Noé couldn't believe that a little kid like that was a magi. Magi were supposed to be magicians of creation, powerful beings guided by the rukh. But the kid was, well, a kid. How was something so small supposed to be so powerful?

Chief laughed at hearing that.  _"Hypocrisy doesn't suit you."_

Her comment made Noé pout. The reason she was small was because she was still growing. When she became an adult, she'd be even better at fighting. She'd be bigger and stronger. Even more than she was now. She was sure of it.

" _You will be, yes, but that will be years from now. He will be no different. So give him that benefit of the doubt. Like you, he still has a lot to learn."_

"You're...Ose, right?" The little magi asked sheepishly as he and his older friend stepped forward. Noé stepped aside giving them room to speak to him.

Ose nodded his head and smiled warmly at the magi. "I am." His eyes turned to the older boy that stood by his side, "And this must be your King's Candidate."

"I think so." Noé's eyebrow twitched, peeved at the weak answer.  _He thinks so?_  "My name is Yunan and this is Leo. I brought him here to gain the powers to become king."

The djinn nodded again. "Then he is your candidate, great magi. He is the one you have chosen to rule as your king."

The boy's expression brightened and Noé couldn't help but think him cute at seeing him so happy. "Yes. Leo is braver and kinder than anybody I've met. He will become a good king. I'm sure of it!"

Ose gave him a smile and said, "Then he can become king if you see so much potential in him. Alas, he is not the only candidate that has reached the treasure room." His gaze turned to Noé which brought the other two's scrutiny to her as well.

A bit abashed by the attention, she rubbed the back of her neck before turning to them. "Don't mind me. I already told Ose that I don't want him."

The older boy's eyes, Leo's, widened at hearing this. "You don't?"

She shook her head. "I got what I came for. All I want now is to leave this place. It'll actually be good for me if you conquer him. So…" Her words trailed off, having nothing more to say.

Leo's expression changed and a grin split his face as he turned to Ose. "Then if you'll have me, I want to become king!"

Noé watched from the sidelines as Ose agreed and contracted with Leo, inhabiting the sword he carried. Well, at least now she had an exit. As the portal opened, she hurried to it and joined the duo as they took the dungeon's gold and left the structure. She ignored them on their way back and did as well when they got back to their world.

At being outside, the first thing that welled up in her was a surplus of magoi as the sun rays touched her olive skin. All that exhaustion from before vanished in an instant. All except the thirst. That never left. Reinvigorated with strength, Noé readied herself to leave. Turning to the couple of boys, she gave a quick thank you for having helped her get out of the dungeon before turning to leave.

Just as she was to go on her merry way, a tiny voice called out to her. "Um, miss?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Noé watched the tiny magi as he spoke up with his head held up high. His King Candidate stared at him a bit confused as to why he'd called her but didn't question him, instead leaving him to say what he wanted. The little magi took to his bravery and spoke loudly.

"Miss, who are you?"

She pondered whether to tell him. There wasn't any certainty that she'd see him again but she felt like the little boy knowing her name wouldn't be of any consequence. She smiled as she answered, "Noé."

"It was impressive to see someone else in that dungeon. You must be a really good fighter to have gotten there before us!" This hadn't been Yunan speaking. It'd been Leo and his words were full of amazement as he continued, "Noé, right? Would you like to join Yunan and I and travel the world?"

"Nah, I'm good." There was no hesitation. She didn't want to go with them. Being with people was too exhausting. Nevermind making friends.

"Then…" the little magi Yunan's voice rose above a whisper as he asked, seemingly actually curious. "Why enter if you weren't going to conquer it?"

"I don't need power. At least not anymore." Her fingers reached up to the silver arrowhead that gingerly laid on her beneath her clothes. "All I wanted was to ask the djinn if he knew where my friends were." The two looked at her quizzically. Noé didn't expect her reasons to make sense and simply chuckled as she shook her head. "I don't want power anymore," she repeated, "So there's no need for me to go with you. I'd much rather travel alone."

" _But the magi raises dungeons, kid. Perhaps following them would be best if you intend to follow Ose's advice."_

_I do._

But there was still so much of the world left to discover. She wanted the freedom to do so at her own leisure. And being with others would only drag her down.

_Besides, we can keep searching as we go. Sure, it may take longer but don't you think it'll be much funner with just us two and nothing but the open world?_

Chief's chuckle echoed in her head.  _"You're right. If that's what you wish, Noé_ , _then so be it. If we've got anything in excess, it's time, after all."_

Agreeing with her, Noé gave a quick glance to the little magi and waved her goodbyes before she used her renewed magoi to flash away from the cleared dungeon.

— **{i}—**

A king. A queen. Another queen. Another king. Every new life meant a new king vessel.

And Yunan was growing more and more tired of seeing the same scenario play over and over again. They were such great people, they all wanted great things, and yet they always fell and became dark, empty shells of the greatness they once aspired to be.

It was tiresome being so sad all the time. To watch what he worked so hard and cared for so very much crumble down and disappear like dust in the wind. But as much as he dreaded it, he knew he would meet them, his king vessels.

In this his fifth life, Yunan had already met and watched his king vessel fall when he met her yet again. That green-eyed girl. Even after five of his lives, she only appeared a couple years older than the first time he met her.

She found her perched atop a hill watching as the city—a city he helped build—burned to the ground. It's people had revolted against their queen. After years of suffering strive and hunger, the people had had enough. In their anger, they had killed the queen—his fifth king vessel—and cannibalized her as retribution. Gruesome scene that he'd watched bits of as he fled. Now covered in ashes and blood, he found the girl there as if keeping guard of a great kingdom that used to be.

When their eyes met, he saw the red feathers that came from behind her right ear fall back as her eyes grew in concern at his state. Standing up and hurrying to him, she looked him over for injuries. Yunan only watched as the girl that stood to his chest inspected him. Once assured of his well being, her eyes saddened at looking up at him. Her lips pursed briefly before she spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, Yunan."

He didn't like hearing her say those words. Every time this happened, she would say those exact words to him whenever he met her. She always found out about what transpired and would say those words. Apologies. As if all that happened—all that ever happened—was somehow her fault.

For the first time after so long of this happening, he returned the gesture, giving her a weary smile. "Me too."

Her eyes turned to the city that burned away again as if mesmerized by the outcomes of yet another of his failures. But he knew better than to think so fouly of her. Especially when the girl had been nothing but kind to him in any life she met him.

"What will you do now?"

Yunan didn't have an answer. Not a concrete one, anyway. "Wander, I guess."

_Wander until this repeats over again like it's destined to._

After six times, he'd come to expect it almost. Never quite ready for it, though. And he knew that soon enough he'd meet another king vessel. He was a magi, after all. And it'd be a king vessel that would wish for greatness. One who wished to better the world for its people, one who wished things so grand that once they reached them, they would crumble and fall.

It was a cycle. One he was tired of living.

_If only there was a king vessel that wouldn't follow that course._

A sudden thought came to him and it made him raise his gaze to the girl that stood beside him. A girl that, like many of his own king vessels, held power, but unlike them, she used it for one, harmless reason.

_Perhaps…_

"Noé?" Large emerald eyes turned to look at him curious at being called. Yunan hesitated to ask but wariness and a hint of desperation took over his mind for the split second that he spoke. "Would you become my King Candidate?"

Her eyes widened at that, the feathers behind her ear bristling at the question. "What?"

He knew she'd be confused but he was determined to find a different outcome. Something to fix what he was doing wrong. "You don't know who summoned Andromalius' dungeon, isn't that so?"

"It is but—"

Yunan didn't let her interrupt him, already dreading her answer. "If someone like you, a person who wishes nothing but to find her friends again, is to become queen, I think that you won't fall as the others have. Your reason is selfish but what you wish could not possibly hurt anybody. To find your friends, I could help you do that. And once you do, you can create a place that would safeguard them and yourself. You have strong values, I know that, and you could do good for the world. I know you could."

A small smiled came to her lips and his dread only became greater at seeing it. "I'm honored that you would ask that of me, Yunan, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't want power. I have no need for it." That answer again. Yunan pursed his lips at hearing it. "I love this world, Yunan, but I don't want to become queen of any kingdom in it. All I want is to find my friends. Tying myself down is something I don't want to do. Especially not to the people that inhabit this world."

"I don't understand how you can claim to love the world and despise the people in it."

Noé grimaced before turning to the city once more. "I do love the world, Yunan. I love it because it was born of light. It's pure and full of hope and wonder." She motioned out towards the burning city beneath them. "The darkness and cruelty that happens in it is because of people. People lie and cheat, wanting nothing but what's best for themselves. I know because I'm no different. My intentions may seem harmless like you say but I'm selfish all the same. And for selfish reasons, one is capable of anything. I'm not different from them. In fact, I might be the worst."

"I don't believe that." All the times Yunan knew her, Noé had never been anything but kind and loving to the people she cared for. It was how he knew she was a good king vessel. It was the same reason that Andromalius chose her, he thought.

Noé glanced at him and gave him a thin smile. He'd seen that before during his first life, back when he was new to being a magi. To existing. It was a look of pity. "Believe whatever you want, Yunan. It doesn't change the truth."

"Then my offer—"

"Forget it," she deadpanned. Turning her back to him, she began to walk away but stopped and glanced over her shoulder to give him a smile that although sad was hopeful. "I know it seems bleak now, Yunan, but don't lose hope. I'm sure you'll find the king vessel that won't fall like they have. Someday you'll meet them and know that it'll be different this time."

"Is that what you tell yourself after all this time of searching to find nothing?"

He didn't mean for it to sound as derogative as it did. Despite that, Noé's smile didn't falter. It only grew as she nodded. "And I still do. I'll find them just like you'll find your king vessel. Have hope, Yunan."

Those last words said, Yunan only saw Noé disappear in a flash of blinding light. And with that, she was gone.

— **{i}—**

" **Saving the world was not a job to be done by one person. And what she realized was that one person alone could not carry the world on their back.**

**And so, her quest began."**


	2. Ghost Town

**|i.|**

Flames. Blood. Screams.

Anywhere her eyes looked, Noé saw the same scenario.

Brighter flames. Fresher blood. Louder screams.

Over the many years of her travels, she had witnessed wars of varying magnitudes. She recalled some small ones—rebellions that were quickly quelled by the opposing party. Others, she remembered, were full blown-out wars between countries, sometimes between parts of the world itself, and would last from months to years. None of them ever mattered to her. They were passings of history, natural selection taking its due course.

The strong would live, the weak would die. Just like nature dictated. Just like she had learned.

The fact that she understood such simple concept so easily made this instant even harder to grasp. Why, when all others had been so insignificant, was this one hitting her so hard?

" _You lived with them. You broke bread with them. You love them, Noé. You care."_

_Ah, that's where I went wrong._

This, war of a country against a group of deserters, was being lost by said country. A country that had risen so mightily thanks to its general, a general that now laid dead before her feet. In her stupefied daze, her eyes stared at the body. Golden amor marred in crimson. His lips no longer smiled that smile she loved so much and instead wore an expression of pain. The wound was still fresh, the blade of the broadsword that had struck the openings of his gear and had broken off still impaled in him.

And Noé had been too late to stop it. So preoccupied with safeguarding the city—one she could have truly cared less about—that she failed one of the only people that mattered. And now that same city— _his beloved home—_ was dangerously close to falling alongside him.

" _You can stop this. You have the power to stop it."_

"What good is that power when he couldn't win, when I couldn't reach in time to save him?"

Andromalius had no answer to that. She knew as much as Noé did that she spoke the truth. There was no good in their power when it wasn't there when it mattered the most. But as broken and grief stricken as Noé was, one thing did manage to reach her.

" _They're still there. She's protecting the city they built, the city your son calls home. There's still his legacy, his family, which must be safeguarded. Do not let them down a second time, Noé."_

The city. Glancing over her shoulder, Noé watched that grand city protected by the magic shield, a borg. That little girl was keeping it raised all by herself. There was no doubt in Noé's mind that she could keep it raised, but she also knew that if it got attacked that it would not stand for long.

The army of the deserters wasn't large but it was large enough to shatter the borg and for them to siege the city. But that was if they reached it.

_I'm not letting them set a foot on your homeland._

Driven by pure determination to keep that promise, Noé stood, brushing the tears, blood and ashes from her face. Just beyond the horizon in the city's direction she could see the enemy's small army marching towards the golden borg.

Twenty minutes on foot was her estimate. In full equip, she could arrive to block their entry in two. But with the seal…

"Come forth and dwell in my body, Andromalius."

A flash of light engulfed her and in the midst of her transformation she flashed, appearing just before the borg as the enemy troops neared it. All men halted at seeing her, the golden light emanating from her blinding them as it burst out into her djinn equip.

Contrasting the brilliance of it, though, was the dullness of her eyes, devoid of any emotion except the grief that consumed her. A quick count of motionless men gave her a total of three hundred. Three hundred of them against one of her.

_I am enough._

Raising her arm towards them, the golden bow materialized into her hand and as she pulled back on the thin string of light, a single arrow nocked. The stupefaction of having seen her appear out of the nowhere blew off of the men at seeing this and they rounded to rush against her. They wasted no time to do so. But by then, the light finished gathering into that single arrow.

" _Ashieat Alshams."_

Her fingers released the arrow and it flew through the sky becoming a ray of sunlight in the rotten gray sky, before becoming hundreds of arrows that fell onto the army. Many were shot down, caught unawares by the multiplied attack. Those who survived and trekked forward only met the sharp end of her arrows. Those who got the chance to get too close to her received one to their heads or throats, not from her bow but directly from her hand.

Three hundred rapidly became two hundred then one hundred until only a handful remained.

Dusk had long taken away the sun and with it the source that would have replenished her magoi. With all the repeated attacks with her djinn, her reservoir was low but she was determined to see them to their end.

She nocked an arrow and shot one through a soldier's neck. As she did so, one other tried to catch her off guard but only caught the sharp end of a light dagger into his eye socket that shattered into his skull. With a swift turnabout, a single arrow was shot from her bow faster than she could breathe and multiplied into three hitting their respective targets as they rushed her.

The stench of iron and ashes and burning flesh came to her nostrils and hit her delicate sense of smell. Her eyes burned, not just at seeing the massacre before her but at using so much of her powers in such short time. When no more came at her, Noé recounted in her head and through the field the number of deaths she had caused in the mere five minutes. Two hundred and ninety-nine.

_One more._

And she knew very well who that last arrow would be for even before he showed his face in the battlefield. Perseus dared step into the battlegrounds in luxury decked in golden armor and red cape, his family's sigil engraved onto the breastplate over his heart.

Good. It gave her a clearer target.

Her mind still in a frenzy, it confused Perseus for his younger brother for a split second, softening her resolve. They shared similar features: the slightly tanned skin, the golden mane of hair that reminded her of the sun, and those eyes the color of the sky she loved so much. But Perseus's glare and grimace told her the truth.

He wasn't Pernadius.

"You killed your brother." Noé didn't know why she said those words. It wasn't a question; she didn't have to know why he did it. In reality, she didn't want to know. He would die either way.

"And you have slaughtered my men."

"Men that threatened your city. Pernadius's beloved home. Your home. A home that accepted you. One that loved you. How could you betray him like that—all of them?" She couldn't help ask. Despite what she told herself, she wanted to know how he could throw away such gift.

It was the one thing she couldn't understand of anybody: how they could take for granted their simplest blessing.

Perseus' glare darkened and he spat at the very soil he stood on. " _They_  betrayed me _._  Him and my supposed home. We took back our city but instead of giving me what is mine by birthright, that witch chose him as king."

Noé's attention got caught by something pulsating beneath his armor. The blackish tint of it meant it wasn't flesh and that it kept pulsating and growing as he walked towards her only made her more wary of him.

"And what does he do with that? He throws it away. He doesn't want to rule and instead chooses to be a mere general." Perseus clicked his tongue disdainfully. "I always knew Pernadius was weak. This just showed me exactly how much."

Her caution wasn't unfounded. The black flesh grew more until it engulfed his right arm, bulging it to the point that his armor on it broke off. Perseus was not bothered by it in the least. His glower, however, did change and slowly morphed into a grin with each step he took towards her. The black mass that clad him like a grotesque second skin spread from his arm and to the rest of his body. The mere sight of it made Noé drawback, her hands holding tight to her bow and her already nocked arrow. Whatever it was and what it was doing to him gave her a really bad feeling.

It was setting off every alarm in her brain. It was telling her to flee. But Noé planted her feet firmly into the ground as Perseus continued to head her way.

"Someone as weak as him won't lead Reim to glory. Only someone willing to do anything for their goal can." The black flesh had already taken over most of his body. Noé wondered how he was even able to walk still. But even as it began to devour his face, the grin and crazed look in his eyes didn't waver. Not even as cracks began to appear on the dark flesh, turning them a bright cyan, forming and emanating a strange smoke. Almost like the cyan insides of the black flesh were seeping out into the air as particles.

It reminded her of her crystals. That thing, though, wasn't made of light. That was made of something different. Something foul.

Finally, just as it was about to engulf him whole, Perseus smiled and said, "I will lead it and Reim will prosper like it never again will. I will do what Pernadius never did. I will rule."

The dark mass consumed him whole and began to shift in shape until it transformed what used to be human into a grotesque beast-like being. It's legs were larger than any animal she'd seen—its hind ones bent as it used its enormous hands to lean over. There was no trace of its face was it was covered by a dark silver mask except for its mouth, the jaw broken and unhinged to inhuman proportions. The same cracks from before covered it entirely in strange markings.

Letters, she recognized; it was the Toran Language. But as far away as she was she couldn't discern the scriptures. They glowed in that same cyan, dimming from time to time as if keeping time with its breathing or heartbeat. From its mouth and behind its mask, black tendrils fell down and were swept back respectively, dripping a viscous substance of the same color from the ones coming out of its mouth.

This  _thing_  was not human anymore. Noé didn't even know what to call it.

" _It's a dark djinn."_  Andromalius spoke up for the first time since she equipped her and it unnerved her for some reason.

"He's fallen?"

" _Yes, but this is unlike those we encountered back then. It's...different."_

In that instant, Noé knew that Andromalius had had that same disquieting feeling as she had. But despite that, Noé also knew that knowing now what it was made her goal even clearer.

It wouldn't be for just Reim anymore. Duty dictated to her heart and mind not to allow such rotten core to exist in this world to further contaminate it.

Mindlessly but with tremendous force, the beast lunged at her. Noé didn't back down. She raised her bow and aimed, both eyes fixated on her target.

Perseus had always been rotten to his core. A piece of trash. One of many that sullied their world.

_Someone has to weed all the trash out of this beautiful garden._

A strange euphoria festered in her at that thought which made her grin at the dark djinn that rushed towards her. Her fingers jittered from it, her hands shaking her aim, but she steadied it quickly and pushed the sudden emotion to the back of her mind. Pulling the light arrow back, the string of her bow became taut as she aimed at the beast that was now but a few feet from her.

_Why should that not be me?_

The arrow flew.

* * *

**|ii.|**

Bored out of her mind, Noé reached underneath her drape and bandages, picking incessantly at her left shoulder where a bruise more akin to a black scab the size of her palm blemished her skin. Her eyes wandered aimlessly, scouring the luscious fields as the wagon trodden through the hardened gravel path.

Her luck had taken pity on her after five days of ambling without a set course. No food or water made it worse, especially the lack of water. After the third day, Noé found herself coughing dry flakes of dark red. She hated when her throat became so dry that it started peeling like that. It hurt constantly and always left a nasty taste at the back of her mouth.

But she thanked her lucky stars and any god out there that decided to put this old man in her way. Jeremiah had been a darling, giving her food and the exorbitant gallons she had asked of water, even extending his generosity further by providing transportation to the next town over.

Needless to say that she graciously accepted.

From what he said, the old man hailed from Reim and was a merchant delivering goods to the docks bordering the northwestern continent. When she heard this, Noé found it ridiculous that the dungeon had literally sent her across the ocean she had crossed back to that part of the world.

_All that money wasted for nothing._

" _What money?"_  Chief said with a sarcastic scoff.  _"You're entertaining doesn't win you enough to assuage that thirst of yours, much less food or transportation."_

Details weren't something Noé bothered herself with much which prompted her to dismiss Chief's interruption and instead continued to hear the old man as he told stories. Despite them being nonsensical domestic affairs, Noé found bliss in listening to his life stories. This had been her job once long ago, so it was second nature for her to tune out of her own thoughts and give her undivided attention to those who let themselves be known to her. This focus had been what had won her renown and her position as a recorder since it allowed her to easily memorize what she saw, heard, or read. Generally, it took a try or at most two before she had it ingrained in her brain.

But Jeremiah's life, despite being over fifty, was shorter than their journey and soon the old man ran out of stories to tell. This afternoon was the fourth day without anything to talk about and the boredom dug into her like a shard of glass into her temple.

Out of the many things in this world, boredom was the worst of all because, unlike all the other things that got on her nerves, this one she couldn't kill.

" _Leave it, Noé. You'll make it spread more."_

Her fingers stopped but twitched in place, tempted to continue their monotonous labor and let her mind wander again. Chief was right. This blemish would only spread if she continued to bother it. It had overtime and grown to the size it was now from the tiny scratch it had started as.

She pulled her hand away, decided on leaving it alone, and adjusted her drape tightly. Accommodating her clothes back into place and burying her hands in the pockets, Noé heaved a long sigh through her nose before laying back against the wagon as she rode in the back with the cargo and stared up at the night sky.

No matter where she looked at it, it was always wondrous to behold. Be it night or morning or twilight, the sky was always a grand view to her eyes. Her fingers twitched again inside her pockets and the burden she carried on her back painfully shifted at the sight of it.

" _You okay, kid?"_

Noé didn't answer and instead lowered her gaze, this time to let her head fall to the side and rest awkwardly on her shoulder. But the peace and quiet of the night was interrupted by the muffled noises of civilization. Curious, she rose from her seat and peeked over the wagon's edge to find that Jeremiah was entering the outskirts of a town. What she found odd was that the old man wasn't stopping. Noé climbed over the cargo and snuck her way onto the roof of the wagon to let her head fall over to speak to the old man.

"Hey Jerry—"

"Ah-oh!" Jeremiah held onto his chest and stared dumbfounded at her, his expression relaxing when he realized it'd been her. "Oh, child, do be careful. Both with yourself and this poor man's heart."

She let out a chuckle and apologized before saying, "Why aren't we stopping? I thought you said you'd take me to the nearest town."

"Yes, but by that I meant the safest one nearby, child. I would not be at peace with my conscience if we parted ways here."

_Mm_. Noé looked around as they began to pass through the streets of the town, surely to get through the town itself, but didn't notice anything odd about the town, much less what was supposed to be dangerous about it.

"What makes you say this town isn't safe?"

"Noé, the town of Maladh has since long ago stopped being the sanctuary it once was."

Maladh. Now that there wasn't a name she recognized and according to Jeremiah, for a good reason. He explained that despite being small, Maladh had prospered well during its founding due to its fertile lands and its nearby woods. Both of those had provided Maladh the ability to self-sustain and become what many called 'the oasis of the west' years ago. He told her how, during the years of war between Parthevia and Reim, Maladh had become a haven for any weary traveler no matter their affiliation. He had known the matriarch before she passed some years ago, the granddaughter of the founder, and Jeremiah said that Yatahammal Ramal had turned Maladh into a safe haven that harbored any traveler or injured. At times that included soldiers of either side of the warfront. Both Reim and Parthevia did not bother with the small town seeing each other as the bigger enemy; apparently, so long as all Maladh did was treat and not kill, they weren't seen as a threat.

Jeremiah said they weren't. Yatahammal had been a kind woman who sought to help those harmed by what she claimed to be a pointless war. Noé agreed on that front. She remembered those times and her visits to either country had not been pleasant.

Regrettably during those times a hardship had risen in Maladh itself. A plague, he said, stormed the lands and poisoned them. Nothing grew that year, nothing grew any years after that actually. The plague took more than just lands, though. Years later as their town continued to decline, many citizens became ill and died including Yatahammal. Even when her son took over as the new patriarch, many more misfortunes happened. Hit so consecutively, neither the people nor the town could take it, and eventually most of the citizens left. Those who remained there were natives to Maladh, and those who came were mere passersby, mostly crooks of the worst kind.

_Sounds interesting._

"Well then, Jerry, it looks like this is where you and I part ways."

The horse that pulled his wagon neighed in complaint at being stopped so abruptly by Jeremiah. The old man sputtered in confusion as she jumped off from the roof of the wagon. "B-But, Noé, Maladh isn't safe."

"I'll be okay. Thanks for worrying, though." Noé flashed him a confident grin before giving him a dismissive wave and starting to walk away. Although she heard him worry even more about her, he eventually gave up and left. That or she had walked away far enough to not hear him anymore.

Shoving that to the back of her mind, her eyes scanned the area as she made her way through town. The sun was barely setting but even so she saw no one around in the streets. In fact, the people she saw around, dressed poorly and clearly malnourished and sickly, were running away into their homes, barring doors and even blocking any windows to the inside of their rundown homes before turning all lights off once inside.

Noé took note of their odd behavior before focusing on finding a place to eat and sleep but most importantly some water. The only place that had any lights on was a building larger than any of the others she'd seen in town and by the rambunctious noise emanating from within, she supposed that it was the only place around there that welcomed foreigners.

At entering the establishment, the hair on the back of Noé's neck stood on end even before her gaze came to be on the people inside. The old man hadn't been kidding. There was nothing here but a bad crowd of bandits, swindlers, and—ugh—slave traders. Dismissing the looks she garnered as she walked across the room, she sat at the far end of the bar.

"What will you be having?" The sweet voice caught her off guard and Noé had to verify that it had indeed been a woman who'd spoken to her. A pretty petite one too. Viridian hair was held back from her round face by a half ponytail as her large brown eyes stayed on her. The smile she bore wasn't genuine, Noé noticed, and seeing where she was working, there wasn't a question why. Politeness to customers was a given to the woman apparently, but it was also clear that she was cautious when doing so.

And the man that sat at the far end of and behind the bar drinking, broadsword ready on his lap, told her that it was an added precaution too.

"Just some water." Picking through her pockets, she found the last gold coin she had left and placed it on the counter before pushing it towards her. "As much as this can buy me, please."

The woman stared dumbfounded at the coin but took it nonetheless before stepping back and taking a large mug to fill it to the brim with water. As she did so, she pushed an adjacent door open to call out to someone.

"Luca, hurry with the food." Turning back, she gave Noé the mug. "Six more of those is what you have."

Noé thanked her with a nod and a lift of the mug before she started drinking it. As she did so, she glanced over the rim of the mug to watch as a kid of maybe no more than fifteen walked out of the back room with his hands literally full of dishes of food. She turned in her chair drinking still, and watched the boy she assumed to be Luca as he sped through the floor passing out food that he wasn't thanked for. What's more, the people had no mercy on the poor kid and piled on him the dirty dishes that they'd gathered from their previous meals or ordered even more that they didn't seem to be paying for. The boy didn't complain nor tell them to do otherwise; he took them as he went and finished what seemed an usual rotation before returning to the bar and telling the woman what orders he'd gotten.

"Thank you," she muttered to him and caressed his cheek lovingly. "Tell your uncle to start those up." Again, the trooper that he was, he didn't say no and instead disappeared into the back room.

"Mennie, there's some trouble."

Noé let her mug sit on the bar to watch the man from before with the broadsword now standing next to the bartender, Mennie. He was tall and very well built, certainly the type Noé would hassle around when necessity called. Tanned skin and dark brown hair, this man was a very fine piece of meat but by the looks of it already taken. His eyes that had narrowly scrutinized the place even as he sat and drank were now gentler when looking at Mennie, and the dreamy look those honey-colored eyes of his gave her made it obvious.

_Luck has graced them._

Mennie's expression turned to concern, her hand reaching up to his arm in which he held his sword. "It's peak hour, Niko," she spoke in whispers. Most would not have heard her had they not been paying attention. Luckily for Noé, these people had caught her attention much earlier. "Luca and I can't handle this."

"Areste will be a call away. He'll deal with anything here." He leaned in to her ear and whispered something that even N0é could not hear. Whatever it was, though, seemed to convince Mennie enough to let him leave but not without a warning.

"Be careful."

He gave her a chaste kiss to her lips before muttering farewells and leaving. Noé turned, watching him as he left the tavern, but she hadn't been the only one. Many of the men there had followed him with their eyes as well and only muttered amongst themselves while giving lecherous glances over to the bartender.

" _What lowlife."_

_With the way some of them are looking at Mennie here, I'd say this place is a pigsty._

Chief sighed in defeat before changing the subject.  _"So, what's the plan? Why stay in this 'pigsty' in the first place?"_

"Can I have the next one, please?" Noé asked with a smile, passing the mug over to Mennie. The politeness seemed to catch her off guard but she wordlessly served her and gave the mug back.

" _You_ do  _have a plan, right?"_ Noé pursed her lips and stared at the water as she swirled it around in the cup.  _"Right?"_

"...I'm thinking about it…" she muttered under her breath as she quieted her words by taking a drink.

" _Are you se—"_  Noé found it slightly amusing that Chief had to literally take so many deep breaths to keep from yelling. Had they not spend enough time together for her not to be surprised anymore, much less be angry, about her modus operandi?  _"Tell me you at least had a good reason for stopping here. Please. Just give me that much solace that you actually use that thing sitting between your ears."_

She delayed her answer as she put the mug down and played around with it, sliding her finger around the rim and watching the other people in the tavern as they rose from their seats and approached the bar. Because of how close she was to Mennie, the hogs that came stood rather close to her. The stench of days' old sweat and grime hit her nostrils like a slap on the face and even got her to jerk back as she rubbed incessantly at her nose trying to make it go away. But it didn't—they didn't—and that irritated her very much so.

"Wouldn't you like to have an actual man bust in you for a change, pretty thing?"

Mennie's brow furrowed and she ignored them, choosing instead to keep working and cleaning the dishes. The men didn't stop though and kept throwing lewd remarks at her from that last one to insinuating on having her multiple times between the lot of them. Noé's water was starting to taste more like sewage by the second. But she refrained from acting, this wasn't her business after all.

"Come on,  _Mennie_." Noé could tell how them calling her that really grinded her gears. Must be something reserved for her husband, she thought. "You'll be screaming for us to keep going when you have us all fucking you senseless."

"Fuck off." That answer made Noé's appreciation for the petite woman rise considerably.  _What a fierce little one._

"What did you say, you bitch!" But when the man held out his hand and grabbed at her arm from across the bar, the brusque movement shoved Noé and her arm. The action itself made her hit her forehead with the mug as she lifted it for another swig and poured all the water on her.

_Okay, that's it._

They could stink like the seven hells around her and even make her drink taste like shit with their remarks but she'd be damned if they were going to mess with her and her thirst.

Stomping her feet as she stood up, the stool screeched underneath her as it was pushed back with her sudden rise. But noise wasn't all that her foot did. From the torches and overhanging lamps that lighted the tavern, Noé found it easy to solidify the light they made into solid pikes of orange crystal that materialized diagonally across the bar, keeping the thugs away in their stupefaction and hurting the one that had bumped into her with one having pierced right through his forearm. He screamed, that pleased her plenty, but that didn't really satiate her annoyance at him having wasted her drink.

With a sweetly devilish smile, Noé brandished her arms out to rid herself of the water on her arms and walked up to lean against the pike that impaled the brute's arm. "Look here, you piece of shit, I'm going to make this really clear and easy for you to understand. You just deprived me of one less glass of water and I'm not too happy about that. Nope, not happy at all."

"You crazy cun—AH!" Another pike materialized into his shoulder this time—right through the joint that connected his arm to the rest of his body—and piercing part of the bar by accident, blood flowing down onto it from the wound.

Even through his new screams, Noé's smile didn't waver. It widened. "So I'm going to give you two options here." Taking another step, she grabbed the clean end of the orange pike that protruded from behind his shoulder and in her firm grip twisted it making him yelp in pain. "You leave this fine establishment with either a busted arm or no arm at all. Is that clear enough for you?"

He nodded vehemently but that wasn't what she wanted. Twisting it more slowly this time to make the pain last, he cried out, "I-I-I'll l-leave!"

"Good." Noé took her hand away and tilted her head, exulting from the scene of such a beast of a man begging for mercy. A minute was all she gave herself to gloat. She didn't want the bar to get too dirtied up, after all.

_If you would, Chief._

Andromalius did as she asked and the pikes broke into particles of light before becoming simple firelight again. The man fell back crying in pain, dirtying the floor more. Standing over him and those who tried to help him up, Noé smiled and kicked at his foot.

"Alright then, buh-bye!"

All of those who weren't with him ran out. He and those that were with him hurriedly helped him to his feet before they ran out of the place. Before long, the tavern was empty. Her ire spent and her mind at ease and happy, Noé bend over to pick up her forgotten mug. She cleaned it up from the dirt with the sleeve of her drape before taking her seat back and reaching it out to Mennie who now had Luca and another brawny man with a hatchet at the ready beside her.

"Sorry about the mess. Would you mind giving me another, please?"

— **{ii}—**

"I cannot thank you enough for what you did. Truly, we are in your debt."

Noé pursed her lips, uncomfortable at the blatant display of Mennie's husband's so-called gratitude.

It'd been hours since the tavern closed and it had done so earlier than usual apparently after her little stunt of driving all the clientele out. Mennie and Areste thanked her for dealing with the ruffians from before, offering free food and drinks for her as thanks. Noé didn't complain and took the reward with open arms. Days without proper food and not the necessary amount of hydration made her quite grateful for their offer. That and she was somewhat spent from using her powers at night with only firelight to control.

Around the hour and a half mark, Mennie's husband returned and was told what had transpired by his wife and brother while Noé inhaled every last bit of food that Luca kept bringing her. His name was Nikotis Ramal and that alone told her a couple of things. This was Yatahammal's son that Jeremiah spoke about which also meant that he was the de facto headman of Maladh.

Noé picked her teeth as she waved her hands dismissively at him. "I think your family has paid me plenty by feeding me. Luckily I've got a small stomach." That got a chuckle out of Luca, the one who really understood her joke after having been the one catering to her endless appetite.

"Are you a traveler, Miss Noé?" Mennie asked as she took a seat on the same table.

"Yeah," she replied, crossing a leg over the other and leaning her arm on the table to let her chin rest on her hand. "I was curious about what became of Maladh. I've heard rumors, you see." And Noé spared no detail of what she'd heard from Jeremiah to them. She could tell by the grimaces that slowly came to their faces that they were more than aware of this. So instead of beating around the bush any longer, she struck immediately before they could back out. "You've lived here most of your lives, certainly during the time when Maladh's decline began. Have you any idea what might have caused it?"

They exchanged weary looks amongst themselves for a few moments and she took the time to scrutinize their behavior. Mennie and Areste were mostly glancing at Niko as if for approval and it was him that answered her in the end.

"About fifteen years ago, around the time when that first dungeon was conquered, one of those things rose here in the woods. I was younger then and my mother, the matriarch of the town during those times, had heard about the deaths such edifice caused and forbade any citizen from approaching the thing. We listened. But within days, a strange fog began to come from the woods which polluted our fertile lands." Niko walked over to the far wall to take the space between his wife and herself and leaned his back against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he pensively stared at the candle on the table. "You know the rest. Back then, we knew by the end of the month that the structure and the fog had to be related, but we couldn't approach it. Aside from poisoning our fields, that thing is also highly flammable and the woods, as dark as they are, cannot be trekked without light. We cannot search for the origin of the structure despite it being visible at the outskirts of the woods. And if we cannot reach it, we can't figure a way to get rid of it."

"I see. I'd have to go investigate near there then."

Areste spoke up, blubbering nonsensically until his brain seemed to function again. "Did you not hear what Niko just said? You can't go through the woods without fire. The gas ignites. You'll burn the whole place down and you with it if you go."

"I'll figure something out. Besides, you two saw what I can do. Do you think that's as limited as my powers go?"

That made Areste open his mouth and close it immediately which made her chuckle. Mennie was the one to turn to Niko to speak softly. "She did use some strange magic, dear. Something I remember only your mother being able to do and even that pales in comparison to what we saw."

Niko lowered his gaze before turning it to his brother. "Areste?"

"Mama Yatta's magoi manipulation wasn't anything compared to the girl's magic, Niko," Areste explained, seemingly much calmer when speaking to his brother. "I say we let her try."

"I do too." His gaze turned up to Noé who waited expectantly for their answer. "I'll guide you there in the morning. It's too treacherous to go out during the night in this town."

"Sure, I'll take that. Can you tell me where the inn is then?"

Mennie shook her head, her eyes downcast at hearing that. "There is no running inn. Frankly speaking, you are the first real tourist we've had aside from the bandits and slave traders."

"You can stay in our home."

"Really?" Noé asked incredulous. Niko nodded solemnly.

"Stay here?" Areste asked a bit less confused than her. "Where?"

"We have an extra room." That seemed to tell them enough. It was actually quite interesting to Noé how the mere mention of the one vacant room was enough to quiet their questions. Niko pushed himself off from the wall and motioned for her to follow.

He took her through the back door where she'd seen Luca come and go while the rest of his family came behind her with Areste following right after her.

_How cautious._

" _If occurrences like the one we witnessed are commonplace, then I do not blame them."_

Neither did she honestly. As they went through the back part of the house, Mennie and Luca were the first to retire, leaving her alone with the two brothers. Soon, though, even Areste left at Niko's insistence. It was clear that he didn't want to leave his brother but reluctantly agreed in the end and left to his room. Niko led her further in the house, up the second floor, and to a particular room in the far end of the corridor to the left. He opened the door and nodded his head for her to enter ahead of him. Despite the reception being so detached, she complied and entered the room.

The first thing she saw was a bed across the room against the wall and just under a window. A desk with several things including a lantern and shelf full with books were off to the right and some kind of pile of toys was on the left on top of a much larger table. Drapes hung around the bed's window and over the desk next to the shelf. An odd basin stood to the side of the bigger table made of metal, the underside darker as if having been marked after numerous times of being burnt. The room was small but the small things that she could glimpse from stepping inside gave it a sense of individuality.

Whosever room this was, they were quite the simplistic yet unique bugger.

"I will say this now, despite offering you shelter, I will have to ask that you do not disturb anything in this room aside from the bed."

"The owner too picky about their personal space?"

"My sister wasn't the picky type. Just really liked her things organized."

Wasn't. Liked.

_She's gone. And this place is kept like some kind of shrine._

Not wanting to dwell in personal business that wasn't hers, she gave a nod. He thanked her one last time before leaving her to herself in that room. In spite of what she told him, Noé waited until silence came to grab the lantern and begin snooping around.

" _I thought this wasn't any of your business."_

"Prying isn't my style. But I'm allowed to be curious, Chief. I'll be sure to leave things in their place, so don't sweat it."

" _Have you no respect for the dead?"_

What kind of respect did she want her to show them? It's not like they would care. They're dead. She disregarded Chief's words and continued on her little meddling mission with her lantern to light the way.

The shelf was her first stop. The books ranged from a few fairytales to others in blacksmithing and many more on metallurgy. Niko had said sister, hadn't he? What kind of girl would be reading up on their engineering? Losing interest there, she went to the desk only to find diagrams of many kinds. Designs of sorts, she guessed. Noé couldn't quite decipher them from how they were written so she left them be. The last larger table seemed to be the workspace the girl had used to do her projects. Scraps of metal—some gold and silver even—laid haphazardly there along with tools. Noé picked up a half-finished metal horse toy; it didn't have legs or a tail, but the head and bridle were detailed beautifully, accentuated with silver and gold pieces so finely woven into the metal that it seemed almost drawn from the same ore.

That girl had had a pretty good hand with this. Pity she died. Would've made a great artisan.

Leaving things back where they were, she went off to the bed and laid down so she could stare out into the dark night. As she gazed at the dark blue skies with stars sprinkled about and the moon giving her its rare light, Noé's thoughts wandered to what Niko and the others had told her about Maladh and the 'strange structure' that had risen those fifteen-odd years ago.

"Flammable fog... Do you have any clue who we're dealing with this time?"

" _Flammable fog makes me think it could be those who mastered Fire Magic. They would be more knowledgeable about such sciences."_

"Got any names in specific?"

" _After those we've already encountered, the pool is quite narrowed. But with 72 of us…it could still be anybody's guess."_

Her foot tapped impatiently against the wall were it dangled off of the bed. Finally fed up and unable to wait for the morning, she got up after only fifteen minutes of rest.

" _Noé?"_

"I'm heading to the dungeon. See what all the fuss is about for myself."

" _You should rest up. The moonlight doesn't help you and you used a handful of your magoi already."_

"And I ate." She tapped her full stomach lightly as emphasis. "I'm much better now. Besides, I'm not actually going to dive in. Even I'm not that stupid. All I want is to see the dungeon from afar. Maybe that will give you some inkling as to who it is."

Chief agreed with her suggestion so long as it was only to scope the place out. She promised it would only be that and jumped out of the window and tumbled over to land on her knee on the ground below.

As she stood she noted that Maladdh was certainly dark at night even with the light of the moon shining down on it. The light actually made the shadows bigger and made the town appear more menacing that it actually was. But in that darkness is where the scourge of this garden hid best. As she took the stroll towards the woods that she'd seen from the room, Noé could hear the noises of those bandits fighting each other, of slave traders abusing their slaves, and of people just being nasty to one another. Despite the sound of such atrocities so blatant and loud, she knew that there wasn't much she could do. Saving one, maybe two, wouldn't be worthwhile in the end. Who was to say they wouldn't end up in that same situation or worse later? No, the best way she could help was by ridding Maladh of the dungeon.

But first she needed information on it. That would give her the best chance to find out what she needed to prepare for diving in.

By the time she reached the outskirts of the woods, Noé had to cover her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her drape as the fog washed over her surroundings. A single unintentional whiff of it was all she needed to identify it. That was the putrid smell of kerosene. It explained the flammability. And Niko hadn't been kidding about the darkness. A few steps in and the moonlight had already vanished, not even passing through the canopies of the trees.

Lucky for her, her source of light wasn't fire-based. Raising her free hand, she let as much light gather in it to morph it into a small hovering sphere of light that illuminated her surroundings. She sighed heavily through her nose, frustrated at the results after having gathered most of the light around.

_So tiny._

" _You're to blame. You know dark places don't go well with your powers."_

She knew but she had hoped that the reserve in her would be more than a mere nightlight. Noé made due with the tiny light and let it hover ahead of her. Utilizing it like an artificial firefly, it guided her way as she traversed through the woods. Despite not knowing where she was going, she guessed that as long as the fog kept getting thicker, she was going the right way.

And lo and behold, after half an hour of walking, she found the structure she was looking for. She had seen the top of it as it shot out from the canopy of trees from outside but up close it seemed a bit more intimidating.

Torches lined the squared-shaped structure and were lit in bright red flames. Strangely none of the fire reached the gas since it came from a moat several meters away from the entrance. Strangely enough, some of the flora around the dungeon survived the toxic fumes. Even before as she walked through them, she was surprised that the woods and especially the trees had survived the pollutant of the kerosene gas. She guessed that whatever the species was, it had properties of its olden times to survive this type of attack. The dungeon was nothing but a squared tower that rose high and appeared to be made of black obsidian.

It was elegant and dangerous.

"Noé?"

The soft voice that she had gone years without hearing shocked her when it reached her ears and made her turn abruptly at having missed his nearness. But she wasn't particularly worried about him, though. Yunan was a very laid back and kind magi. And with how old and knowledgeable he was where his magic was concerned, it didn't surprise her that he snuck past her without her noticing.

A smile spread across her face which hid behind her sleeve as she gave a sidelong glance at the wandering magi. A bright borg protected the magician from the fog as he watched her with wide baby blue eyes while tilting his hat back to better see her. Instead of answering his call, Noé ran up to him and knocked at his borg before pointing at her face and smacking her chest. Understanding her charades, he extended the range of his borg to include her with a wave of his staff. Once inside, Noé took a deep gulp of fresh air before grinning sheepishly at him.

"Hey, Yu-chan. What brings you here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing if I didn't already know." His gaze averted from her towards the dungeon. "I came to inspect what's gotten Sitri so upset."

"Sitri?"

" _Oh, it's her!"_  Chief sounded pleased to know whom it was as if it were an old friend, but Noé didn't mind her outburst and instead focused on what Yunan had said.

"She's upset? How do you know?"

Yunan gave her a solemn nod before turning his sad eyes towards her. "I raised her dungeon sometime ago. She was wary about the location but agreed on my decision. I haven't seen her dungeon since, though."

"You left after raising it, didn't you?"

"You know I don't like bright places," he grumbled, changing into a weakling like he did when mention of the sun came up. But it didn't surprise her that he had. She knew Yunan tended to raise dungeons during intervals when he wasn't holed up in his home. Which meant…

"You haven't been here for fifteen years?"

"About so." He tapped his shoulder pensively with his fishing rod staff. "Fifteen years ago, I was more preoccupied with other things. I visited a couple of countries if I recall correctly."

"Aside from Parthevia?" If  _she_  remembered right, that was the last time she saw him.

He gave her a curt nod. "Since no one conquered it, I didn't bother coming here to check. I never imagined Sitri would have become this upset over that span of time."

"You still haven't said what she's upset about."

"That's because I'm not aware of it. I can't speak with djinn once their dungeons are raised in the world. Even before then, my communications are scarce. Whatever it is, though, she must feel threatened by it."

Djinn? Threatened? "They're powerful beings able to perform grandiose magic. What could they possibly be afraid of?"

Yunan gave her a knowing smile then, one that told her what he wanted to say even before he said it. "We are all prey to something bigger than us, Noé. Even you and I as powerful as we may be have those who surpass us. The djinn are no different, it would seem."

Her silence was the only agreement she gave. But if Sitri was threatened by something and hindering its surroundings then it must be quite the menace. Noé was sure that anything that the djinn was concerned about wouldn't be such if she got out and had a master that could use her pow—

_That's it._

"Yu—" But his name died in her throat as she pursed her lips shut. Yunan only gave him a puzzled look, tilting his head at her, but Noé appeased him with a shake of her head. "Nevermind. Will you be here for long?"

"I might. I want to find what it is," he confessed.

"I see." Noé gave him a wide grin, patting him on the shoulder before taking a few steps away and out of his borg. Covering her mouth, she waved with her other free hand as she spoke loudly through her sleeve, "See you around then." Noé didn't wait for him to give her an answer and flashed as soon as those words left her. In that flash, she returned to the room she'd left half an hour ago, the light of her flash shedding off her body as tiny flakes of light that brightened the room a few seconds before they completely disappeared.

" _What are you thinking?"_

"If Sitri gets a master, she doesn't have to worry about contaminating the woods and keeping whatever threatens her at bay."

" _So?"_

"So…" Noé drawled with a cocky grin, "We get her a master."

" _You mean you're going to conquer her?"_

"Not me." She thought there was a worthy fighter in Nikotis. A family man and patriarch sounded like a proper candidate for a djinn.

" _Noé as stupid as your ideas are, this is one I cannot get behind."_

"Why not?" she asked incredulously as she undid her sandals and loosened her clothes to sleep more comfortably before plopping onto the bed. She raised her hand over her face extending a finger each time she got a point across. "Maladh gets rid of its toxicity." One. "Niko gets the power and money to bring his hometown back from the rubbish it is." Two. "And I get to talk to Sitri by going with him  _and_ I get my exit guaranteed." Three. Giddy, she threw her arms back but groaned as she hit the bedposts. She rubbed at her hands but the pain didn't take away her grin. "It's perfect."

" _What you are doing is giving the king's power to someone not chosen by a magi. That is not your job. It has never been your job. Lord Ugo did not create this system to be undermined after everything."_

Those words were a real downer to her mood. She turned to her side, her hands behind her head and arms cradling her it, and faced the open window and the night sky. Chief didn't stop there, though, and kept chastising her.

It's not like Noé didn't understand. She knew the roles of the magi and that only they could choose proper candidates. But that gave her more reason to come up with the idea that she did.

" **He will not be chosen by the magicians of creation. A faulty candidate will not be a long lasting one. It will be cursory just like everything else."**

And if they're not long lasting then whatever they do with the power won't matter in the larger scheme of things.

Telling this to Chief did not placate her blatant disapproval however. It in fact made it greater.

" _If that is your choice, then I cannot stop you. But I will not help you, either. You want to go through with this then you go through this by yourself."_

Noé scoffed, her grin turning crooked. "Fine with me."

She'd gone through most of her life alone. However long it took for this plan of hers to go through would be less than a second compared to that. And if Andromalius was going to be such a craven about this and not help then so be it. It's not like Noé needed her anyway.

Noé wouldn't blame her though—she knew better than to do that when Andromalius was only adhering to the purpose she gave herself for—but like her, Noé wouldn't care about it either. They've had their disagreements— _gods know we have—_ this wasn't the first and sure as hell wouldn't be the last, of that she was sure.

But none of those things would set her back. This was just a stepping stone to save them all, and if she had to throw some into the water and let them sink for others to cross safely then she would. No helping the inevitability of fate.

Wanting the bitterness of the conversation forgotten, Noé closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm herself and try to sleep. " 'Night, Romali."

That night no voice called back to her 'goodnight.'

* * *

**|i.|**

There hadn't been any people. It was a dying bonfire left behind by whoever had been passing by. Her luck still clung to her a little longer though seeing as the fire was still fresh enough for her to restart it with minimum effort.

The day had been shorter than she expected since by the time she reached the origin of the smoke, night had caught up to her. Noé felt the cold of the desert night hit her like iced water. All her bones, especially her arms, ached from the iciness of the night and her teeth chattered uncontrollably even when she tried holding her jaw closed with her hands.

" _Don't do that, kid. You'll break them."_

"But i-i-i-it's cold-d-d-d."

" _Get closer."_

Noé did as she was told and scooted closer to the small fire burning brightly in the night. Huddling her knees against her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and managed to wrap that  _thing_ around her tiny body.

It was bigger than her and it covered her nicely. The feathers were warm...and puffier than usual.

" _They do that to trap as much warm air as possible. That and the fire should hold you for the night."_

"W-What if it doesn't?"

" _It will,"_  she corrected, assuring Noé.  _"You will see the morrow's morning."_

Noé didn't understand how but her words comforted her enough to focus on how cozy the warmth around her was even with the icy breeze passing by around her. As a particularly cold one passed and made her shiver, she curled up closer in her small bundle. But as her eyes began to close from exhaustion, a thought kept shaking her awake.

_I can't sleep. I have no proper shelter, no protection. If I'm attacked—_

" _Rest, Noé. I don't know about that thing of yours but I won't let anything harm you. Of that you can be sure."_

That promise did put her at ease but it also brought back memories. Andromalius had never said that to her before. Bitter words of revulsion and disdain, yes, even many deprecating her, but seldom kind ones. It had only been recently that Chief saw her as anything normal. Anything remotely worthy of being treated as an equal.

Noé knew not to expect Andromalius to be a compliant djinn and for her to see her as her master, much less her king. But a part of Noé's heart swelled with equal parts of happiness and grief and it made tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes.

This seemingly shocked Chief and prompted her to ask,  _"W-What's wrong, kid?"_

"N-Nothing." Noé wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palms, the rough action turning her cheeks even redder than the cold had left them. But as she stared at the burning flames of the fire, her mind full of so many things, she found it necessary to voice them. "Chief?"

" _Yes?"_

"Thank you," she spoke softly, burying her face into her arms somewhat embarrassed, "for choosing me, for getting me out of there, but mostly for…" The tears threatened to fall again remembering Andromalius' words.

" _ **You are not a stain in the lineage. Even with that deformity, you have endured, you have survived, and you surpassed all. It didn't take away from you. It empowered you. And I cannot imagine a worthier candidate for king."**_

"...thank you…"

" _All that I said was true. And know that from now until your last day I will be with you, for you, and for your goals. You are my king, Noé, and I will serve you as such."_

That left a bitter taste in her mouth. To be king, that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to rule. She never did.

_I've only ever wanted what everyone else already did: a life._

"I'd rather you not."

" _What do you mean?"_

"More than having a subordinate, I'd much rather...have you as a friend."

Silence came to be in her head with the only sound being the crackling of the fire before her. But Noé heard a small sigh and could almost imagine the smile on Andromalius' face. So gentle, so warm.

" _Then that is what I shall be, Noé."_

A smile returned to her at hearing this, "Mm."

Now she had one friend. One of the many she dreamt of having her whole life. And one of the many that now by being in this place, she would surely have. But that was looking too much into the future. It didn't stop her from dreaming of how great her life would be now.

Those were the dreams she would always have and would regret in the morning because she knew they could never come true. Now that wasn't the case anymore. Now that wasn't an impossibility. It could happen. And it would.

With so much happiness filling her head, it was a bit tough to fall asleep but she soon gave up to her exhaustion, eagerly awaiting the new adventures she would see rise with the morning sun.


	3. Foreseeable Fear

**|i.|**

**"The girl journeyed through the world going from dungeon to dungeon to speak to the great djinn inhabiting them in the hopes of finding her friends.**

**But diving dungeons when not planning to conquer them left her at a disadvantage. Without conquering it, she could not exit them. More than a few times she dove without a way out and was forced to wait until another came and got to the treasure room. Thankfully, luck was on her side far too many times as she would always be liberated.**

**It seemed that freedom was hard to lose once won. That gladdened her. It meant her hard work and all the suffering she endured wasn't in vain.**

**The girl had to admit, however, that she needed a better plan if she was to follow the first djinn's advice. And after understanding the role of the great magicians of creation, she found her better plan."**

— **{i}—**

" _You seriously need to stop doing this."_

Noé's smile didn't waver and her eyes didn't leave her lute as she played a couple of notes before tuning the instrument. Her foot bounced in midair as she strum the full chord. "Stop doing what?"

" _Entering dungeons without having an exit, you dumbass!"_

That Chief blew her gasket made it even funnier and got her to let out a boisterous laugh that resounded throughout the treasure room. Noé truly didn't know what she was getting so mad about.

"Relax. Yunan said he had chosen a candidate already for this one. He sounded pretty sure about having an exit for me."

" _I hope so. Dying in this dungeon would only mean we become food for scavengers."_

"Yeah right! I'd live of off these small fries before becoming anybody's food." After all, baby dragons were tasty with a lot of things. Noé especially liked how they tasted glazed with honey and cooked just right. But she couldn't blame Chief much since there had been plenty of times when they waited much too long for a dungeon to be conquered. That's why this time she made absolutely sure to have a plan.

Well, she supposed as sure as trusting Yunan and his instincts went. Noé didn't doubt the wandering magi, though. He was a good guy and a fine ally when needed. He had never let her down and she was sure he wouldn't start now.

The moment she caught the distinct smell of the salty sea mixed with fresh blood and sweat, Noé knew that she hadn't been wrong about trusting Yunan. Her fingers instantly stopped as the noise from a couple of voices approached the treasure room. Wanting to remain unseen until the djinn and the exit came to be, she used her light magic to distort the light around her and disguise herself. The footsteps rushed into the room as a couple of young bucks entered the treasury. It was easy to scrutinize them from her perch just above the entrance where a balcony was: two boys of about the same age. One had green hair and hardened features, decked out in red and golden armor. Noé recognized the sigil of the Venomous Spider Princess of Parthevia. The other was a simple sailor boy with lusciously long purple hair and eyes of molten gold. What caught Noé by surprise was the sudden kick that the rukh around her got.

Since she wasn't a magician, she couldn't perceive the rukh. However, if gathered in great quantities and if she played right with the light around her, she could spot the silhouettes made by the fractured light she conjured as they flew about. Moments like those were rare; she usually played around with that aspect of her powers whenever she and Yunan spent any time together. But the moment those two walked into the room, Noé instantly felt their presence and as she played with the lighting fracturing it to the point she'd discovered, she could visualize the horde that hovered in the room.

Hundreds of thousands of them had entered the room with the two boys. And they all gathered around the little sailor boy.

_How curious._

" _What intensity."_  It was more than clear to her that Chief was more impressed than interested about what they were witnessing.  _"It's like a magi."_

_But unlike it._  Magi were magicians loved by the rukh. But these weren't hovering adoringly around the boy. They just were, guiding him away from the piles of stone treasure towards the real cache: the djinn's metal vessel.

Touching it, he summoned the grand djinn that appeared before them, lightning striking out alongside him.  _Blue lightning._

" _It's Lord Baal."_  Huh. Noé never heard Chief speak of the others like that. The other djinn had been comrades, bittersweet affairs, some even old enemies, but she never spoke of them with such revere. It made her wonder about the djinn. But Noé wasn't an idiot. She knew who Baal was, just not personally.

_Not my district, not my problem,_ is what she would have thought of him. Except that was then and this was now. And right now, she wanted to speak to the djinn. But he seemed a bit more taken by the young men that declared themselves as the candidates to conquer him. When they went at each other's throats and inevitably started fighting over who would get to become king, Baal had no problem with them duking it out between themselves.

But as the two boys did that, Noé wasn't blind to the djinn's scrutiny her way. It was almost painstakingly obvious that he could see her but he decided to hold his tongue for some reason.

" _It's his dungeon. We are aware of what occurs in our domains. Hiding from him wouldn't have worked regardless."_

She didn't expect it to. It wasn't like she was hiding from him, though. She just didn't want to deal with the kids squabbling over who would take the shiny new toy. So Noé sat back and watched the spectacle, betting two gold coins on the sailor boy. Chief ignored her childish game—Noé just placed Chief's nonexistent bet on the opposing party—and watched alongside her as the two went into a clean fist fight.

_That's primitive._

" _When in doubt…"_

And surely, no doubt was left after the sailor boy popped one last hit at the soldier effectively rendering him unconscious. He stood proudly and bloody from the sword fight before Baal.

"The victory is mine."

Baal stared down at the brat, taking his prying gaze away from her, and proclaimed, "I have witnessed your ambition, Sinbad. However…" Noé saw where this was going when the djinn's eyes came to her on her perch. "The boy you defeated is not the only candidate present."

That bewildered the sailor boy Sinbad plenty. "W-What?! But only Drakon and I made it here!"

"Another has been here for sometime, watching." Baal finally faced Noé and raised a threatening hand crackling with lightning. "Show yourself."

Noé grinned, liking the blue giant's boldness, before flashing to stand before Sinbad and Baal and breaking the cloak of the light around her, showing herself to the two of them. Sinbad jumped back, startled by her sudden appearance so near him. Baal wasn't amused but intrigue did etch itself on his face.

"Hello," Noé cheerfully called with a wave of her hand to Baal more than to Sinbad, "Nice to meet you, my name's Noé."

"H-How—" Sinbad shook his head and instead focused on another question. "Since when…?"

"Not long before you entered." Noé saw now that the intrigue in Baal could be heard in his words. He'd known she was there even before he emerged. "And yet you did not claim me. Who are you, human?"

"I already introduced myself," she pointed out, craning her neck back to see the blue giant better. She flinched a bit at hearing Chief's loud chastising in her head from being so disrespectful to Baal, but Noé ignored her as best she could, plugging one of her ears to keep the noise to a minimum. "But if what you want is a reason then it's to talk to you."

Baal raised a questioning eyebrow. "Talk?"

Noé nodded. "What I want is information, if you happen to have any, about my friends, the recorders."

"Recorders?" she heard little Sinbad repeat every bit as confused as he sounded. His bafflement was blown out of him when he jumped out of his skin again at hearing the boisterous laugh that erupted from Baal. Noé glanced around at the small trickle of sand that poured out of the cracks of the treasury from the shaking his laughter caused.

Once calm, Baal reached down and patted Noé's head to her utter astonishment. It hurt—he wasn't being careful at all!—but it was short lived and left her hair messed up every which way. Not like her auburn curls weren't a mess by themselves already. Baal let out another chuckle, taking his hand back and letting her put her hair back into place.

"You're one of Arikos' friends."

"Yes, I am. And I'm looking for Ari and the others...sir." Well, as good of a mood as declaring her motives put him in, Noé didn't think a little flattering via respect would hurt her. "Would you happen to know anything about him or the others?"

At being asked this, though, his happiness left and his solemn expression returned to him. "I do not, child. His works were of no consequence to us. We only provided the information, not the means."

"I see."  _What a bust._

"However—" Noé's eyes shone a bit with hope that he had something to give. "—if you will be searching for them, then I suggest you start with those sigils marking you."

"What sigils?"

"Um?" At hearing him speak up, Noé gave Sinbad a sidelong glance as he cleared his throat and pointed to his own face. "I think what he means is what's on your face."

"My face?" She reached up to touch her cheek unconsciously on the side that always burned when using  _those_  powers. "What's wrong with it?"

"You are Andromalius' master, correct?" Noé nodded at the question. "Light reflects. I suggest looking at yourself now." Preoccupied with that, she used Chief's powers to gather the light and materialize a round crystal mirror. Her eyes stared at her reflected image for a solid second, her hands holding firmly onto the ragged edges and her mind processing what her eyes were seeing.

On the right side of her face, from the top of her forehead to the bottom of her cheekbone, was a bright orange sigil just like Baal said. It was an eight-pointed star and inside it was a second image, originating from the middle of the circle. It was a bright point of color that burst out into several lines to reach the edge.

_It looks like an exploding sun._

It was faint, the color almost fading from her dark skin, but her eyes still saw the remnants of engorged veins on her forehead and around her right eye and cheekbone. It looked odd. An idea struck her and to test it, Noé focused on channeling her powers.

Not Chief's. Hers. The ones that she took. She had learned long ago how to summon it—how  _it_  was different from Chief's magic, despite both being the same kind—and although she knew plenty about it, she also understood that her knowledge on it was not exhaustive. That it manifested so brightly when using it was a clear example of the limits of her proficiency.

But how could she have known? Noé seldom looked herself in mirrors, much less when using her magic. But Baal was onto something. That sigil, it was like those on the metal vessels, but the other on the inside was one she recognized. And if she had it...

_They'll have them too._

Noé let herself relax, releasing the powers of the seal, and watched as the marking on her face faded off, leaving only tiny remnants of her swollen blood vessels. The mirror disintegrated in her hands as she unconsciously rubbed at her face.

"And if it aids you in any way, I believe that Arikos had his on his left arm." The djinn specified his description by lifting his own arm and brushing his other hand over his left forearm.

Noé grinned haphazardly and nodded. "Yes, it will. Thank you, Baal. Oh, and Chief wants to tell you that she's glad you have found a master."

His eyebrow raised at hearing that. "I have yet to choose. After all, you and Sinbad remain."

She shook her head. "I never entered with the intention to conquer you. I don't need another djinn." Noé let her hand fall off her face and turned to glance at Sinbad. Going back to her goofy persona, she started looking Sinbad all over.

It only took a few seconds for him to become nervous about her perusal. "U-Um, can you stop, please?"

And she did. Noé stepped back and smiled with a solemn nod before patting his head. Despite appearing so young, she was almost to her full grown height, at five and a half feet.  _Only four more inches._ Compared to her, Sinbad was but a boy. But if Yunan chose him then it must be for a reason.

"I don't want Baal," she assured him, his molten eyes staring owlishly at her response. "Besides, Yunan led you here for a reason, right?"

His eyes widened even more despite Noé thinking that impossible. "You know Yunan?"

She nodded cheerfully, teasingly slapping his cheek a couple of times. "Tell him I say 'hello,' okay?" Before he even answered though, she turned towards Baal again and motioned to Sinbad. "I forfeit my candidacy. You have your king right here."

Baal agreed wholeheartedly and entered Sinbad's sword. The portal appeared then and Noé was more than glad to enter it to watch Sinbad from a distance as he struggled with the gold he was packing. Once he was done and entered it as well, the portal took them away. It became awkwardly silent on the way back but Noé didn't mind the silence. The sailor boy did, though, and broke it with an inquiry.

"So...you have a power like Baal too?"

"Yep!" Noé didn't deem it necessary to lie to the boy. "Mine I got a long time ago, though."

"Did Yunan help you too? Is that how you know him?"

"No, he didn't. At least not with capturing my djinn." Noé never found out who raised Andromalius. Not like she cared anyway. Chief was hers now and no magi would say otherwise. No one would take her friends away from her ever again.

At the mention of Yunan, a dark cloud hung over her mind. This little kid was another of his king vessels. Another one that could end just as fatally as the others. And Noé knew how much those outcomes saddened Yunan. Since she didn't want to see him sad again, she turned to him with a wide grin before poking him teasingly right between his eyes.

He yelped back, holding his forehead where she'd attacked him. "W-Why?!"

"Don't let the power get to your head, alright kid? Be honest and be true to your dreams. Most of all, always be kind. And remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely."

His gold eyes blinked twice before a sincere smile spread across his face. With a nod, he agreed, apparently having taken to heart her advice.

Before long the portal returned them to the dungeon's origin...where a horde of Parthevian soldiers waited for them. At first, they were happy that the dungeon had been cleared, assumedly by the Parthevian boy, Sinbad. But when said sailor declared he would not hand over neither the metal vessel nor the treasure, they became furious and opted to take it by force.

_Joy._

" _He can't deal with them by himself. He just got Baal and he doesn't know how to use him."_

True. Noé supposed that the easier route would be for her to intervene. So she did. Raising her hand over her head, she summoned Chief's bow and pulled back on the invisible string of light that nocked the arrow. Noé didn't waste time and let the arrow fly into the sky and, with no target to hit, it exploded into a blinding light. It didn't affect her or Sinbad but dazed the soldiers that had meant to attack them.

"Nice job!" Sinbad called out. "Can you get us out of here?"

Noé chuckled while rubbing the back of her head. "I can't."

"What?!"

" _Can't you?"_

_Yeah but...not happening._

Flashing was a good ability but one that she used sparingly because it came from the seal's powers. It tolled too much of her energy and that was just from using it for herself. Distance covered added to that factor though not by much. Adding extra cargo, now that added an additional levy that she did not want to pay. So flashing Sinbad, herself,  _and_ the fat stack of cash with them was a no-go.

Thankfully, she did not have to crack her mind open so much about it when Yunan literally appeared into the scene. "Hello, you two."

"Yunan!"

"Hey, Yunan."

His caring yet saddened baby blue eyes gazed over Sinbad for an instant. That was all it took for Noé to see that, aside from his happiness about the boy having conquered the dungeon successfully, there was also an underlying sense of grief. Many wouldn't have seen it as any different than how he usually looked. But having seen much happier expressions on the wandering magi, Noé knew it wasn't.

He ignored her for a second as he helped Sinbad conjure Baal's powers. The sheer intensity of the lightning bolts was astounding to Noé. Few where the djinns she'd seen in action once bound to a master, but none had been as amazing nor as terrifying as that blue lightning. The soldiers drew back understandably scared from the lashing of the magic. To her surprise, Yunan helped Sinbad get back to wherever he came from, sending him off with his magic along with his bags of treasure.

Having him alone by her side now, Noé grinned at him. "Off he goes."

"Yes." He watched over the trajectory she assumed he send Sinbad off before turning to give her his full attention. "Any good news from Baal?"

She gave him a chuckle of her own, her hand reaching up to the right side of her face. "It's a clue. It'll keep me going for now."

"That is good," he agreed. Before they could continue their talk, though, the two of them noted how the soldiers from before were starting to approach them. "Maybe we should talk somewhere else." With a swing of his staff, Noé felt the magic he conjured surround them before it envelope her whole and popped her out of existence.

The two of them reappeared in another city completely. It was easy for her to tell they weren't in Parthevia anymore because the earth wasn't permeated with the thick stench of decaying corpses. This new city was one she recognized vaguely. Seaside islands, a vibrant trade market, palace facing the far off northern side.

Yeah, this was Balbadd.

"I'm glad the dungeon didn't teleport you outside of its perimeter." Hearing this, she turned towards Yunan who wore a warm smile on his face. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

Intrigued, she raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

He didn't waste time. "Have you met any other magi aside from myself?"

Noé gave the question some thought. Knowing him, he wasn't asking out of self-gain. He wasn't that petty to think some other magi had taken her as king candidate. Besides, she was sure he knew her better than to think she'd tie herself down to any one person or country again after all these years. So if not out of self-interest, then he was asking to tell her something else.

"Only one other. Reim's golden girl."

He nodded solemnly. "You haven't been east?" When she shook her head, he had his answer. "Then this might be of interest to you: another magi has surfaced and he resides in the eastern parts of the world."

"Can you guys track each other or something?" she asked teasingly with a half smile.

Yunan played along with her, reciprocating the gesture. "I passed by there a few years ago and found him. He is but a child barely getting to know his own abilities from what I saw."

"I guess now would be a good time to visit the east then. Thanks, Yunan."

"Balbadd has ships that can take you close. You'll have to cross the plains there to get to the other side and to the city. But I must warn you, there is darkness there."

That caught her attention. "The organization?"

"I believe so."

Her demeanor changed with that piece of information. Al-thamen, huh. She guessed that only having been to two-thirds of the world meant that she had missed the dark stain where those bastards resided. She offered him a nod and sincere smile. "I appreciate the warning, Yunan. I'll be careful. Will you be following the little sailor?"

"You mean Sinbad?" he asked curiously and chuckled at her confirmation. "I will. Or at least I'll keep watch over him as he begins his journey."

"That's good." Despite saying this though, Noé couldn't ignore the anguish hidden behind his eyes.  _He's still doubtful._  Trotting up to him, she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled. "It's good that you're watching over him. Don't let him walk off the right path, Yunan. The only way to do that is to get involved. We can't leave everything to fate."

His smile changed briefly to a frown but after he shook his head, it was gone and he nodded at her suggestion. "I will. It's my hope that it'll be different this time. I'll have hope like you said."

Hope…

_Hope won't get you anything but loss and agony._

" _Noé."_  Chief's stern voice snapped her out of her sudden mentality. This time when she nodded and smiled to reassure him, it was only superficial, though she doubted he could tell after doing it for so long.

He hadn't just like she guessed. "Want me to give you a ride to the ports?"

She raised her hand dismissively. "I think I'll walk. Thanks for the offer, though." With a wave goodbye, she gave him her back and left him to his endeavors with his ninth king vessel.

* * *

**|ii.|**

Niko raised an incredulous brow after Noé had her say about the dungeon the very next day. "You say a dungeon is what's causing all this. And you want to conquer it?"

"I want  _you_ to conquer it and I can train you for it," she assured. The prospect didn't seem as sound as she thought it to be in her head to Mennie and Areste though. By the looks on their faces, it seemed they were just as skeptical about it as Nikotis was.

"Aren't dungeons dangerous?" Mennie mumbled, turning to her husband and brushing her hand against his arm.

"And how are you so sure that it's a dungeon?" Areste huffed, putting his two cents in.

"I went there last night." Mennie and Areste appeared surprised, Niko not so much. Noé liked that he didn't put anything past her. He was as wary as he was calculative. That would make her job easier. "The dungeon's there and I can take you to it. Not only that but if it'll help calm your nerves—" she said with a nod to his wife and brother "—I'm diving in with him. I've done this before and I can guarantee he'll come back alive and with the power and treasure that dwells inside it."

"People die in dungeons." Noé didn't turn to look at Luca like the other three did. She didn't feel like getting her stomach turned by whatever pitiful expression the kid had on his face. How she hated dealing with kids. "Dad...are you really going?"

Mennie shook her head and went over to him, soothingly stroking his head. "Of course not, Luca. Your father isn't going anywhere."

But Noé could see that despite what Mennie was saying to their son, Niko was seriously thinking about his options. Even with the limited information she gave, it was a solution to their problems and she knew that he knew this.

_He just needs one last push._

"Give me five months to properly prepare you. Not only will I do that but I will help you clear the vermin from Maladh as well while I'm here. Once you clear the dungeon, you'll have what you need to do that and more without me. You will regain control."

And after living in such a state of chaos and uncertainty for years, Noé could easily deduce what he would choose.

"Very well."

"But Niko—" "Dear!" "Dad?"

Noé covered her ears with her hands, the raucous sound of their sudden arguing hurting her head. Her eyes stared duly at the three adults that fought over Niko's decision. Curious, her glance went askance to Luca who stood by glaring at Noé. She didn't blame him but didn't bother with him either. Kids tended to be more trouble than they were worth.

They were too emotional. Too rash.

" _You weren't much different."_

_I was exactly the same._

She knew from experience. So when Luca dared step up to her, Noé quickly brought her arms up to block the feeble punches he threw at her. Mennie shrieked at her son's actions but it was Niko who stopped him, pulling him aside by his shoulders. Noé couldn't see the kid's face anymore but she could hear his sobbing which made the feathers behind her right ear fall back against her head.

"Listen to me, Luca, what I do is for you and your mother and uncle. It's for the family and it's my choice."

"B-But dad, you'll die!"

"I won't." The candor practically oozed from his words. Niko believed them, and because he did, it appeared that Luca started to too. Niko's gentle glance changed in a split second to a cold stare as he turned to her. "You're asking for five months?"

She nodded. "To train you. Whatever is in that dungeon won't go easy on you. I have to take into account your capabilities now to know what I need to teach you," she explained. "Five months is a rather reserved estimate but it's one."

"Can you do it in three?"

Noé raised an eyebrow rather interested in what he was suggesting. "You should be asking yourself that question, not me. But I'll warn you, three months of me training you will be hell compared to five."

"I'll manage."

Noé shrugged her shoulders and scoffed before standing up from her seat. "Alright, hot shot. That being the case we better get started then."

**—{ii}—**

It was easy to train Nikotis. Not only was he strong to withstand the hell she threw at him, he was determined to do what he thought best for his family and town. He had what she saw in many dungeon conquerors other magi had chosen. It made Noé think that even when this wouldn't be a longstanding choice that it would be a good one for however long it lasted.

As promised, Noé also helped cleaning the weeds that plagued this small patch of the world. It was good exercise she reckoned since it had to be done without Chief's power. Not like that was saying much when Noé was a born and taught fighter. Regrettably, Niko told her that murder wasn't allowed in Maladh so she had to settle with being able to beat them up as much as she wanted before throwing the vermin out of town.

Despite being able to expend her pent up energy training Niko and cleaning Maladh up, Noé had to admit that the thought of staying in Maladh for three months was harrowing at first. She didn't like being cooped up when there wasn't a need to. The world was her garden, one she never tired of exploring. Forever changing, forever astounding.

But Noé managed to calm her nerves with the idea that it would only be three measly months. And what were three months after the years she had lived and those she still had left?

_Three months will fly by like nothing, right, Chief?_

It took Noé a few seconds to recall why Andromalius didn't answer. The obstinate djinn would not answer her for anything at the moment. Not even as the days turned to weeks, or as the weeks began to bleed into months. But like she'd known before, Noé understood Chief's restraint to aid her. And she didn't blame her either. Which is why she never complained. In spite of her silence, Noé still talked to Chief as if nothing was wrong, wanting to have at least that from before. Solitude killed, after all.

Through those three months, Chief only spoke to Noé once the night when she informed Niko that they would be dungeon diving come the morrow.

" _Be careful, Noé. Those powers of yours may be greater than even my own but they take a greater toll on you than I ever will. Use them wisely."_

A warning. Aside from concern, Noé supposed that it was to remind her as well of their agreement. Andromalius wouldn't help her conquer Sitri for Nikotis. Which meant that all she had at her disposal were her own skills and Grace of Sunlight.

And since no sun shines underground, what powers the latter would give her would come from the magoi her own body produced.

"I'll be careful, Chief. Promise."

**—{ii}—**

Three months exactly after her arrival to the decrepit town, Noé stood once again before Sitri's dungeon but this time she wasn't alone. Getting them there had been easier than before now that she knew what awaited her on the way. But nothing prepared the young man she brought with her for the splendor of the dungeon that caused all his problems.

"You ready, kid?"

The bemusement left his eyes and they steeled before he gave a nod to her. Nodding herself, she took ahold of his shoulder before pushing both of them through the entrance. Noé felt the pressure change before a light blinded her but at opening her eyes once again, she saw the desolate world that was left and the same thought that always came to her when she dove crossed her mind.

_I'll never tire of seeing you._

Her nostalgia didn't last as their fall culminated over a very active crater filled to the brim with bubbling and boiling magma. Seeing it before he even had a chance to, Noé maneuvered herself against the wall before pushing off to shove Niko out of the crater's way. They tumbled to a stop some feet away a few moments before the crater erupted into a pillar of fire making the two of them cover their faces from the heat.

"T-This...is a dungeon?"

"Sitri's. Yeah," Noé replied as both watched the fire pillar die down into its crater. Sounds of eruptions made a cacophony around them, more active craters littered around them. "Watch where you step."

Niko followed after her as she stood and made her way through the chamber. Sitri's dungeon was quite flamboyant if she said so herself. Dangerous to boot too. Luckily, Niko hadn't died right out of the bat. That would have dampened her plans quite a bit. As they reached the end of the room, Noé couldn't help fanning her face and airing her clothes from the heat piling against her body. She took a swig from one of the many gourds of water she brought along before turning to Niko.

"Alright, hot shot. You're up."

"Yes." Niko took the hilt of his sword tightly as it rested at his side before braving forward and leading the way. Just like Chief had done with her for the past three months, Noé wasn't going to help Niko on clearing the dungeon. Unlike her djinn though, Noé would intervene if things became too dangerous or if he looked like he wouldn't be able to deal with things himself. He had to work for his reward after all. But that was aside from the fact that she couldn't let her escape route die on her either.

Noé figured that watching over him as he traversed the dungeon would be better than leaving him to his luck. But she began to notice the further they went through the dungeon that she had worried for nothing. Although Niko did need her help when somewhat overwhelmed with enemies, Noé found the young man capable of holding his own against the myriad of Sitri's dungeon creatures. It made her job easier for one but she also grew to admire his tenacity and grit. She had to admit that the man knew what he wanted and how to get it and wasn't going to back down on anybody's account.

That easily got them through most of the dungeon. And with Noé's help translating the riddles, they finally managed to arrive at the treasure by the three hour mark. Niko was exhausted, beaten and bleeding from some minor injuries but was elated at realizing they had made it to their end goal.

_Impressive. Isn't he?_

Noé hadn't expected a response. It shocked her when she did.  _"Considering that your aid was minimal, yes."_

_Nice to hear you're back._

Chief scoffed at her cheekiness.  _"I still disagree with your decision. What matters now is that it's over with and you can speak with Sitri."_

The silver arrow that laid on her bosom glistened after she said that and an eight-pointed star shone upon its surface. Without warning, a beam of light shot from her arrow and found its target on a sword far inside the room. Noé and Niko followed the light and found that another eight-pointed star was on a sword that was plunged into a cracked stone pedestal.

The hilt of the sword was gold and crafted to look like a raising dragon. It's body and laid back wings made up the guard and followed downward along the hilt to the dragon's head were sapphire eyes were inlaid, its mouth open from where the blade came out of. Blue and gold swirled on the hilt and and the pommel was the dragon's claw grasping an egg in its grasp. The eight-pointed star that shone laid on the blue-jeweled egg.

_There you are._

Noé grinned and nudged Niko's shoulder before motioning at the sword. "That's your reward." Niko gave her a strange glance before stepping up to the pedestal to pull the sword out. As soon as his hand touched the hilt, light erupted from the blade before its inhabitant showed itself, its voice booming with its inquiry.

"Who wants to become king?"

Unlike Noé, Niko was bewildered by the sudden appearance of the djinn from its vessel. It was amusing to see the usual aloof man be shocked by something. Giving the djinn a glance though, she had to admit that this one was a pretty looking thing.

A female djinn like she had suspected from what Chief and Yunan had hinted, Sitri was a curvaceous woman. Her hair was pulled up into a bun behind her head with a veil of blue fire trailing on her back. Her upper body was covered by a translucent vest with a white sash wrapped around over it and her chest which let the shoulders of the vest fall around her arms. Three gold rings pierced her bottom lip, the two side ones linked to thin chains that connected to the golden armlets on her arms and followed down to rings on the middle finger of each clawed hand. Wrapped around her hips was a translucent fabric tied with a sash of blue fire. A couple more pierced her left eyebrow which contrasted beautifully against her sharp eyes. Around those same eyes, blue and white scales ran along the edge and traveled down the side of her face with more spread along her arms, chest, and exposed abdomen.

Her sharp eyes landed on the two of them making her bend over a bit to do so. Noé had to make sure Niko didn't cower away from her, seeing as Sitri didn't appear to be the type to take kindly to cowards.

"So you two little ones made it," she called with a lopsided grin.

Wishing to lighten the somber mood, Noé stepped aside to separate herself from Niko. "Yes, Sitri, we have."

The djinn's eyes narrowed again. "Not just any humans, I gather, if you know my name."

Noé lifted her silver arrow by the thin leather band that held it around her neck. "Chief Romali told me who you were," she lied.

A wicked grin came to Sitri's lips before she ruptured into a fit of laughter. "So you're the old hag's master?"

" _Old hag!?"_

"Doesn't seem like she's fond of that name."

Sitri cackled again and eyed Noé. "Always the bitter crone, isn't she?"

"Absolutely," she agreed giddily.

" _Noé!"_

Swatting away both the conversation and Chief's annoyance, Noé exchanged her goofiness for a serious expression. "Before we get back to answer your question, mind if I ask you one of my own?"

Both Niko and Sitri stared at her, one confused, the other intrigued. Sitri didn't hide her amusement either as a toothy grin befell her features. "You may."

"It's quite simple and not really as interesting as you may think," Noé shot down with a cheeky grin of her own. "I wanted to know if you knew anything about the recorders?"

The djinn's expression was puzzled a bit at her words and it wasn't until she deciphered her words that she smiled warmly. "...you're one of them."

Noé gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm looking for my friends, Chief Sitri. I know they're out there somewhere and I want to find them to help the world."

Sitri nodded, "And it very well needs it, child. Sadly, I don't know anything of the recorders. None of them were of my people." Noé let a breath out from her nose before nodding in acknowledgement. The djinn's features turned grim as she spoke again, "And although you may have already guessed it, your friends surely aren't there."

Those words hit her hard. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about it, not when she had spent such a long, long time searching for them already. She knew that the other recorders, those who held the other gifts, wouldn't be alive in their new world. Not after such a long time anyway. It was like a childish part of her had hoped against hope that maybe they had...just like she had. But after so long, Noé knew that she wasn't in fact looking for her friends anymore. At least not the ones she had known.

"However," Noé glanced up at Sitri continuing, "even if they are gone, their legacy isn't. You know how those gifts of yours work better than anybody, champion. They cannot disappear from the world, they must continue living on for the world to do so as well."

"You mean their descendants."

Sitri nodded and crossed her arms, the thin chains elongating at will to give her leeway to do so. "The world exists due to their gift and yours. They predominate over your individual existences as sad as that is."

It made sense now just like it had when Chief explained it to her a long time ago. The possibility of finding her friends had dwindled over the years becoming nonexistent now. And although it would have been ideal for it to have been her friends she found…

" _ **It is not them we require".**_

Noé gave her a small smile and nodded. "It is but it's not something we can change. Thanks anyhow, Sitri."

The fire djinn gave her a genuine smile. "Of course, champion."

Masking her sullenness from before, Noé returned to her cheery self and placed her hands on her hips. "Now back to the question of _your_  master."

"Yes, of course. So—" she motioned her open hands towards Noé and Niko, "—which one of you will be king?"

There was really no contest when Noé simply clasped her hands childishly behind her back before taking two steps back and making Niko the center of attention. Sitri and her chuckled at his baffled expression which he quickly lost and stepped forward himself full of valor and candor.

"Men were always my thing, anyway," Sitri jested while blowing a kiss at Niko. Cackling as he turned his eyes askance, she asked, "What is your name?"

"Nikotis Ramal."

"Take this sword in your hand then, Nikotis." Niko stepped forward onto the dais where the pedestal with the sword was. He grabbed the hilt with both hands and with ease pulled it out of the stone. "Nikotis Ramal, I, Sitri the Djinn of Diligence and Gallantry, accept you as my master."

Everything went as expected after that. Niko now had Sitri. But as she helped him gather the treasure from the room into sacks, a question rose to her mind which she quickly voiced to Sitri just as they were loading everything onto the portal that would take them home.

"Sitri, the fog you released from your dungeon, why did you spread it? What were you trying to repel?"

Sitri's brow furrowed and she clicked her tongue in disgust. "There's a pestilence in the world. One I didn't want touching my dungeon."

"Pestilence?" Niko asked as he adjusted the dragon sword against his belt.

She gave a solemn nod. "One that goes against the world's order. One that I haven't seen before. No." Her hand came up, her fingers cradling her chin pensively. "I have seen it, felt it before if for the briefest of moments. But I cannot recall where."

"That so?"

Sitri sighed and her shoulders slumped as her body began to fade into light to enter her vessel as the portal took them further away into the dungeon's exit. "Mm. What I do know is that it's not normal for it to exist. Inorganic almost but at the same time more natural than anything I've ever perceived."

" _Black rukh or Al-thamen even?"_

"It's similar to them." Sitri shook her head after Noé voiced Chief's suggestions. "But it's also different. Darker if I had to describe. It's strange and it disgusts me. Whatever it is, it's been in the vicinity of my dungeon. I have kept it at bay but now that you've conquered it, that will no longer be the case. Be careful, master, champion."

Both Niko and Noé assured her they would be just as they exited the dungeon. Noé squinted her eyes as they arrived rather quickly back at their world just in time for the break of dawn. The sun rose with them and that it bathed her cold and clammy skin made Noé breathe a sigh of relief.

The excitement of dungeon diving would never compare to the feel of the sun on her and how invigorating it felt to have all that magoi surging through her veins. It almost made the insatiable thirst it brought with it bearable.

Almost.

"Well!" Noé turned to Niko who jumped slightly at her abrupt call making her chuckle. "Good job, Niko. You earned this!" She started dragging one of the bags with her to help him get them over the hedge where the dungeon once stood. All the while she did, Niko remained quiet and wistful as if something was caught in his mind. Noé didn't bother asking having already gotten what she wanted and only a promise to Mennie and Luca to bring Niko back safely getting her to help him.

"Noé?"

The tone and way he said her name bellied his intention and gave away his question before she even replied without giving him a second glance, "Yes?"

"Who the hell are you?"

Noé took a deep breath before sighing through her nose, a smile on her face as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Just a traveller that wants to find her friends, Niko." Groaning a bit as she pulled the treasure over her shoulder, she gave him a toothy grin before nodding towards the direction of Maladh. "Don't you have a family waiting for you? Let's get moving, kid."

* * *

**|i.|**

How vibrant and quaint this capital was. The people, although adorned in clothes of variant colors to denote their class, seemed to be well off. Many were merchants, some local manufacturers, but what really got Noé's interest was the fashion. It was so unique, way different than anything she'd ever encountered in her journeys to other countries.

Humming blissfully under her breath, Noé peeked into a stand where they were selling sashes for their rather bulky dresses and picked up a crimson and gold pair to admire the work.

_The east is so different. So beautiful. How come we never came here before?_

" _You had other responsibilities to attend to. Namely Elly."_

A sombreness overcame Noé at hearing that name, her hands tightening around the fabric that she held in her hands, her eyes scanning every thread and embroidery. The sash...a deep crimson. Like her feathers, like  _his._

" _I'm sorry, Noé. I didn't mean to—"_

"How much for this one?" she asked the vendor completely ignoring Chief's comment.

"Fifty huang."

The term caught her by surprise. "Huang?" The vendor was kind enough to explain the currency used in the east by the country of Kou after its unification. Although she had none of them, the vendor luckily accepted the equivalent of fifty huang in the gold coins she still had. Taking it to go, she tied it around her waist, swapping it for the boring old string that held her drape together and her burden against her back.

There hadn't been too much time to explore the capital of this recently established country of Kou before this. Not when her priorities had been on getting to the dungeon that had been raised just a few hours after she arrived to the outskirts of the city.

" _What do you take of Agares' information?"_

Noé didn't know in actuality. Being one of the oldest chiefs, Agares knew a lot so it was a given that she trusted his knowledge. And even when his words had been rather vague, the djinn of earth had been helpful.

" _You recorders, those of you who took the gifts as yours anyway, affect the world around you. Distort it in awfully particular ways,"_  he said.

Noé couldn't understand how they did that, how  _she_  would be able to affect the world she lived in to that degree. But then again, according to what Agares said and what she and Chief deduced, even if such thing did happen, it wasn't like they would be able to notice those changes. After all, she wouldn't be able to see the changes of her absence if she wasn't there.

" _What can I possibly affect?"_  she had asked him curiously.

" _You have the Grace of Sunlight, correct?"_ Noé had nodded as her reply. " _Listen once you return. I would imagine the sun disappears, overshadowed by its counterpart when you are absent from the world as you are at this very instant."_

And to her surprise it had. After exiting Agares' dungeon once its intended conqueror came, Noé wondered around the populated areas and began hearing the gossip. The sun had indeed disappeared the whole of yesterday. Many of the superstitious people were saying that it had been a dragon that had swallowed the sun whole, foreboding the new emperor's reign as one that would bring upon change.

_The sun being swallowed… Seems like Chief Agares was right._

" _This is good. With this we can make assumptions that could greatly help us in our search."_

Noé couldn't agree more. After all, the fact that Grace of Sunlight affected the world so greatly could mean that her friends who had taken the other gifts could also possibly affect it just as drastically. She and Chief would have to use their imaginations for it later, but coming up with things that could happen if their gifts were missing and looking for those signs would be much better signs to follow than the wild goose chase she had been engaged in for the past third of her life.

That could wait though. Right now, she wanted to enjoy Kou and its rich culture. Being a newly founded country made it quite the gem in the rough to explore. It would take days to properly chip away what she'd rather not see and find what would be better to experience in this eastern city.

But that thought rushed out of her head when a little kid bumped into her as they ran past her closely followed by their friends. "Hurry, hurry!" they cried out, "It's starting!"

"Wait up!"

"What's going on?" she mumbled under her breath. Curious, she followed after the kids and the mounting crowd that began to gather the closer she got to what she presumed to be the outer plaza just outside the imperial palace. The crowd was immense. Everyone wanted to see what the commotion was all about. Some apparently knew and were overtly excited, muttering away about it.

_A public execution?_ Chief hummed pensively at the back of Noé's mind as she started making her way through the crowd, shoving people if the need came which it did. She brushed off the profanities sent her way and made her way to the front of the large dias that was before the spectators. On it where two men, one was much older than the other and dressed in much more regal clothes. He must be some kind of important figure. The other man was grotesque, built to a fault with muscle, and dressed rather darkly. An executioner.

"We come today to punish the grave sin of this criminal! They who have done a severe injustice to not only the greatest ally of our emperor and their family but also the Imperial family itself through their deceit!"

Public executions; Noé hadn't seen many in this world. From what she knew, people tended to undertake such affairs in private away from the public eye. But she knew the reason for the few she had seen: intimidation. Public executions only served the purpose of showing others who might follow or disobey that a regime existed and their reign would not be disputed. And from the sound of it, this was exactly that, a display of power. Nothing but lynching by the ruling powers.

Men on the sidelines moved along bringing the culprit out from their putrid cell. The moment they brought them out and Noé laid her eyes upon them, they widened in shock and astonishment at the so-called criminal.

"She's...a little girl."

The young girl that cried as they walked her up the scaffolding where the executioner and his blade awaited her had caramel hair matted against her somewhat dirtied porcelain skin and dull, stark blue eyes that appeared dead and vacant as the tears fell down her cheeks. Noé could smell her fear and desperation but aside from that she also sensed her remorse and...relief?

" _Odd."_

The men roughly brought her to her knees beside the executioner though they didn't find any kind of fight left in the poor creature. She seemed so defeated, so devastated, as if this execution was actually a blessing in disguise. But Noé could still sense the terror of death lingering on the young girl's soiled skin, and most notably in her blank eyes.

The old man she saw before began talking again, rattling on about the supposed crimes the girl committed. Noé listened closely at the allegations; murder, usurpation, duplicity against the family of the victim, and treachery against the Imperial Family. Hefty accusations for a child that Noé could guess was no older than eleven even in spite of her small frame. A ruckus some feet above and away from the scaffolding caught Noé's attention and at looking up she saw that high above in a gallery was a group of people arguing. Or more like a young man arguing against the execution, she surmised.

Interested, Noé walked away from the crowd and hid from it before flashing into the balcony all the while using Chief's magic to distort the light around her to make herself invisible to their eyes. The box she barged into belonged to the emperor and his queen and from the looks of it the one disputing the execution was the oldest prince. Crying beside her caught Noé's attention. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw another family, one of five. The mother crying with her oldest daughter, the younger two crying as well but most likely they didn't understand what was going on. The father might not have been crying but the red around his eyes and the dark bags under them told her he'd done his mourning in private.

"Father, I urge you to reconsider!" Noé turned at the prince that argued one-sidedly with the emperor. "Ceara is but a child. What she did could very well have been an accident!"

"I highly doubt that." The father spoke up, his voice strained. "The girl did not leave and gain power for nothing. She planned to use it. And although we are also at fault for reclaiming her after her desertion, the girl was angered after her brother's death. I might agree with Prince Hakuyuu's claim to some extent, but she has gone rampant before and there's nothing assuring us she won't again." His eyes narrowed and glared down at the scaffolding where the little girl knelt before the roaring crowd, the headsman awaiting the emperor's order. "If it was heartless enough to kill my innocent daughter, then it's capable of killing anybody. Even yourself, your majesty."

"No, father, I don't think—" The emperor raised his hand to silence his son before turning sideways to the other side of the gallery near the entrance.

"Step forward, my boy." From the shadows, a silhouette obeyed and stepped out,letting a young man of fiery red hair and eyes step forth.

Noé's eyes narrowed pensively at recognizing the boy.  _He's the one that conquered Agares._  She had briefly met the boy when he and his entourage entered the treasure room just as she finished talking to the Manticore chief. They had threatened her for obstructing their conquering of the dungeon, but like always she stepped aside and watched the little fireboy claim Agares. But that had been months ago, close to half a year almost. Noé never thought she'd meet the little conqueror anytime soon. Especially not in this kind of situation.

He bowed low before the emperor, respectfully, dutifully. "Your majesty."

"Kouen, my nephew, the girl confessed to you, did she not?"

Fireboy—Kouen, she tucked the name at the back of her mind— nodded once. "Yes, I witnessed her involuntarily using her djinn's powers which prompted her to tell me everything." Even through his regality, Noé could tell that the young man seemed unsure of whether to talk. Surely, he felt guilty for condemning a girl to death. But the boy looked to place duty over anything else which she guessed was what had him in that gallery now.

"Do you believe her a threat?"

" _Putting that weight on a child. Disgraceful."_

_Not unheard of or unseen._  There were plenty of moments where Noé could recall the same thing happening. The innocent doomed to condemn other innocent. It was convenient for people in power like the emperor; it washed the burden from the shoulders of those in higher power and gave it all to the young.

Little Kouen's shoulders squared as he measured his thoughts before speaking, his voice with a slight tremble that no one heard except her as she put explicit attention to his words. "Tragedies can and do happen when such power is not controlled. I do believe her a danger now, your majesty, but one that can be trained for your benefit."

Noé saw the eyes of the prince glint in gratitude. Neither of them wanted the girl to be punished so severely and with such finality.

"But you can't promise us that!" the shrill of the oldest daughter hurt Noé's ears as she stood next to her. "She murdered Haku! There's no way she doesn't have something against any of you or us. If she killed once, she will kill again, and I'm not losing anyone else." She repeated her father's words and they only seemed to drill the point in further. The girl had done it once already and there was no promise to any of them that she wouldn't do it again. The daughter rounded the two little ones that stood nearby into her as they continued to sob.

"I've heard enough."

_As have I._

Flashing away, Noé stood now at the side of the scaffolding still with full view of it. She hadn't liked the tone the emperor had used, so definitive yet somber all the same. He made up his mind in spite of how much it pained him to have done so.  _But a ruler always puts the value of their people over the individual, don't they, Chief?_

Andromalius remained quiet, expectantly so. Noé sighed defeated, stuck between wanting to save the little girl and leaving the world to weed itself out.

" _ **No one saved you. You saved yourself. Why bother saving those who cannot do the same?"**_

One long breath left her as her hands reached up to run through her hair before she turned her back on the scaffolding, intent to leave the plaza. Just as she stepped through the archway leading out, Noé heard the distinct whistling of metal through air accompanied close by the hard snap of bone and flesh before being followed by the deafening cheers of a merciless crowd.

Conflicted and feeling sick to her stomach, Noé ruffled her hair and ran her hands through the side of it. Fluttering caught her attention as she opened her shut eyes to see a red feather followed by smaller ones hover down until they hit the floor. Noé clicked her tongue at that; molting wasn't something that happened to her often anymore. Not unless she was stressed. She supposed that this whole ordeal struck a little closer to home that she would have liked.

Stepping over the feathers that had fallen off, her feet took her away from the plaza's vicinity and headed for the docks.

_There are more islands off to the eastern coast of Kou. Kina, I think the kingdom's called. We should check it out, shouldn't we?_

" _We should,"_ Chief agreed, her voice heavy and solemn. She didn't question Noé's decision, only hoped that the resemblance hadn't affected her too much.

* * *

**|ii.|**

Their thunderous celebration deafened Noé's ears but it wasn't unwelcomed. She liked parties actually, especially since it meant that there would be plenty of food to eat and water to drink.

After their return from the dungeon, Mennie and Areste called for a celebration and rounded up the few residents of Maladh that had stayed behind despite its dilapidated state. It was a small group of people but that didn't make the celebration any lesser. Alcohol and a delicious feast for their chief and dungeon conqueror, they said, and for the woman that helped them reach the goal of saving their beloved home. Noé rarely felt bashful but she certainly found it flattering that they also claimed her as graciously as they did. Besides, there was no way she was saying no to free food and drinks.

So while the townspeople relished the future to come, Noé found her rest with a platter full of meat skewers, plenty of water and delicious fruits. Her gaze wandered off to the people as they celebrated and left her to her little corner of the bar.

" _They're nice people."_

For once she agreed. Although Noé had seen and disposed of her fair share of weeds, there were times when she encountered the rare few that were actually humane. Whenever she met these kind of people, it was hard for her to dismiss them or to leave them to the tragedies caused by the vermin she struggled to rid the world of. The world was a paradise made for good people like these, she thought, and that she kept finding the handful that existed in spite of the majority of pests threatening them brought some life to her dying hopes.

_People like them that cherish and work hard for what they love are what this world deserves._

Chief took a breath but paused briefly before speaking, her voice somewhat deeper, more solemn.  _"And the rest?"_

" _ **They can all burn in the fires of hell for all I care."**_

"Miss?"

Noé's train of thought slammed on the brakes at hearing the quiet voice that called to her. Half a skewer still between her teeth, she turned to face Luca who stood a few feet before her with his hands behind his back while balancing on the heels of his feet. Sheepish, nervous.

"Hey, bucko. What's up?"

Luca hurriedly took his hands from behind his back to show Noé a small plate with a rather appetizing desert on it. He rushed forward and placed it on the table where the rest of her food was before stepping back to face her.

"Thank you for bringing my dad back home safe."

Emerald eyes widened a bit before they warmed up and her hand reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. Luca complained and held his head in his hands as his gaze went askance. "You're welcome, Luca." She took the desert into her hand and took a bite with a small fork, the sweetness of it and the boy's gratitude getting a genuine smile from her. "And thank you for this too."

He smiled and nodded before running off. Noé followed him with her gaze and watched him return to his family. The sight of the three of them together made the sweetness from before turn sour. Plucking the fork out of her mouth, Noé put the dish aside and went back to eating her food and drinking as much as she pleased.

" _Are you alright?"_

"Yeah," she mumbled as she finished yet another platter of food and setting it aside to make room for the next one.  _Just...brings back memories._

Chief hummed in agreement, a warmth from the silver arrow around her neck telling her just how much her djinn felt for her at the moment. But forgetting was easy for Noé, at least when there was plenty of food and water.

Just as she was about to dig into the fifth platter that Mennie brought her, a sudden presence filled the air making the atmosphere around her heavy. Noé paused in mid bite and raised her head to look around, feeling a sudden chill run down her spine as she gazed out into the night through one of the front windows of the bar. It was pitch black on the other side of the pane of glass. Eyes narrowed though, Noé swore that she saw something move.

Slim, fast, malleable, and...black.

She stood and took a few steps towards the window but as soon as she got within a few feet of it something struck from the outside, piercing and shattering the window and heading straight at her head. On a split second, Noé called the seal that immediately gathered as much light as possible to create a pane of light right in front of her face. The dark tendril struck hard against the pane, piercing it an inch in and slowing it enough for Noé to step aside before it completely broke it too. The tendril retracted back out into the darkness before she could do anything about it.

"Noé!" She made no gesture to acknowledge and stop Niko in his approached of her, instead focusing on the broken window and even the others that were around the first floor of the bar. "What was that?"

"That's what I'd like to know."  _Chief?_

" _I didn't sense anything until it broke through. But it's unmistakably the presence of a dark djinn."_

Emerald eyes narrowed when the other window on the same wall broke and from both black tendrils began to slide through wanting to pry the window frames open. Noé clicked her tongue and stood to address everybody. "Stay inside and away from the exits. Don't go out for any reason!" As Mennie and Areste took care of the people, she turned to Niko and gave a nod out of the tavern. "Take Sitri and follow me."

Niko didn't hesitate, quickly taking a step back to take Sitri's sword before going after Noé. "Cover your eyes!" Gathering the light into her palm, Noé didn't wait to see if Niko heeded her orders before releasing the sphere as soon as she stepped out of the place. The ball of light exploded blinding all in the nearby vicinity but it also gave her sufficient lighting to see what they were up against.

And she didn't like it one bit. She didn't hesitate to materialize her bow and strike the two dark djinns she'd seen one after the other. Although it didn't make a scratch on them, the shots were enough to get their attention away from the tavern, their face hidden beneath stone masks and mouths seeping that same cyan-colored liquid that eroded the ground that it touched beneath.

It was one of those things, the same as that black djinn she fought in Reim all those years ago. But Noé didn't understand how two of them had gathered in the middle of such a tiny town as Maladh.

" _They must be what Sitri was sensing from within her dungeon. The pestilence."_

They sure were one. When she noticed the dark djinn readying to charge at them, she grabbed Niko by the arm and ran away from the tavern.

"W-What are those things?!" he shouted as he tried keeping up with Noé as they turned into the labyrinth-like alleys of Maladh.

"Bad news." One that had already given her trouble when she fought it back in Reim. A part of her was grateful that she at least had another metal vessel user with her until she remembered that Niko didn't know the first thing about how to use Sitri's powers. So she was technically fighting this thing alone again. Two of them.  _I can try something real quick._

"Niko, I know you have no idea what you're doing but you gotta listen to me. I need you to help me fight those things?"

"Fight them? How?!"

"With Sitri."

"I've never used her before!"

"I know!" Noé kept a groan from escaping her as they turned another tight corner, large and destructive footfalls chasing after them. "Kid, it's not as complicated as you think it is. You've just gotta listen to what your heart tells you."

"You're not making any sense!"

She finally let the groan she held in out, her frustration mounting faster than she'd like.  _Things can't possibly get worse!_

As they were running out of one corner and heading to a more open space, the footfalls got louder and made the walls around them quake as they ran out of the alley. Noé stopped Niko in his tracks to keep him from getting trampled by the dark djinn that fell from above after having most likely climbed across the walls ahead of them.

_Spoke too soon._

The beasts didn't waste time to lunge and it didn't give Noé enough time to react. But they didn't get the chance to take another step closer as a wall of blue fire sprouted from the ground threatening them back. Noé spared a glance beside her where Niko stood with his dragon's blade aloft, the eight-pointed star glistening and the blade emblazoned with the same blue flames that kept the dark djinn away. He blinked dumbfounded, his attention going from his sword to the firewall and finally to her.

Noé couldn't keep the lopsided grin that came over her. "Not that hard, huh?" Focusing on the trouble ahead of them she manifested her bow and nocked back an arrow with plenty of magic behind it before aiming it at one of the two beasts stuck behind the wall. Letting it fly, it struck right between its eyes, breaking through the mask and exploding into shards of light inside its head. It fell onto the ground jerking about as more of the cyan liquid escaped its wound.

It wasn't dead, regrettably. Noé knew that until the rukh that composed it was completely released or destroyed, that thing could regenerate with time. But she didn't have any time or energy to waste. The one charged shot took a quarter of her magoi already and with it being night time there wasn't any way to regain whatever supply she lost.

She had three good shots left, if her count was right, before depleting her magoi supply to absurdly low levels. Times like these made her hate how low her reserves were in general without the sun. Clicking her tongue and taking a deep breath, she turned to Niko, "When I say to, make the wall disappear. As soon as it does run like hell towards the outskirts of town."

"T-The outskirts, but why?"

"To avoid casualties. My attacks are too single target centered. A fire vortex would do them in easily but it'll have to be somewhere in the open where it won't hurt anybody." Niko narrowed his eyes and nodded, understanding what she meant. Noé's grin widened as she turned back to the beasts before shouting, "Now!"

It took a bit for him to do it but before Niko even had the wall down, Noé had her bow at the ready and sent a volley of smaller arrows that caught the beasts unawares. The arrows stuck to their masks exploding at random. Without needing a word, the two ran out from their spot avoiding the ravid djinn on their way.

They took a good lead before Noé caught the rancid smell of their decaying bodies starting to rush after them. She gave some credit to her luck when they managed to barely reach the edge of Maladh with the dark djinn just as their tails. But this was far enough. Drifting on her feet to angle herself between them, her mind raced through her options, the lopsided grin never leaving her lips. Too close to get a good shot at them, Noé knew what her best course of action was. "Niko, listen to Sitri and gather all the magoi in you to use it on that fire cyclone!" The arrowhead around her neck brightened as she used Chief's light magic to solidify light against her feet, knees, elbows, and along the back of her hands into sharp spikes. "I'll round them up for you."

Not skipping a beat, she rushed ahead just as the dark djinn let loose their black tendrils straight at them. The appendages thinned and became rod-like, shooting straight at her. But the forefront attack was easy to see and just as easy to maneuver around. Dodging the many that sprung her way, Noé got close enough to stab and slash at them all the while keeping her due distance when they attacked. Them touching her, by either a scratch or bite, wasn't something she wanted; one time had been enough. Attack after attack, Noé let light daggers fall from her hands, plunging into the ground and remaining as she danced around them. It wasn't until there were enough surrounding the two dark djinn that Noé jumped over one of them as it lunged her way. As she jumped over it, she plunged one last light dagger into its mask, the beast howling as she landed behind it and between the two.

Noé grinned and snapped her fingers,  _"Ashieat Qafar."_

Light flickered between the daggers before sharp ribbons of light materialized, the beasts entangling themselves the more they moved to pry away from them. But Noé quickly noticed how their sudden gnawing at the taut strings was actually starting to rip the steeled ribbons. She didn't understand how—that light was supposed to be sharp enough to cut through the strongest steel—but that didn't matter. What did was keeping them in place long enough for Niko to unleash his attack. The kid was still trying to make it work though.

_I need to keep them in there longer._

Not thinking, she rushed to them, jumping over and landing on the beast with the dagger. Gripping it with one hand and steadying herself with the other as the djinn thrashed, Noé chanted underneath her breath to the seal and infused Chief's dagger with its magoi. The ribbons brightened in color, like sunlight pouring over a horizon, before they crackled with the immense amount of magoi in them. The dark djinn recoiled as the energy reached them. The moment they backed off, the loop of running energy connected and from the ribbons rose thin walls of light confining the djinn and herself completely inside. The walls towered over them, their blows doing nothing to the fortified magic of  _Ashieat Qafar._  And when they saw that they couldn't get out by brute force against the barriers, they turned to Noé.

She didn't hesitate to back off from the djinn at that moment, a curse leaving her lips as she did so. But the enclosure gave her no room to maneuver and she couldn't leave it.  _Ashieat Qafar_  was complete confinement for whomever happened to be inside it and that included herself. Flashing was an option but fortifying the spell had drained what magoi she had. Her reserves were too low. But if she dispelled the magic, she wouldn't be the only one to get out.

_I can't run away if I want to keep them here._

"Sometime today, Niko!" she bellowed, jumping from wall to djinn to wall and back again, the need to keep moving paramount to her survival.

"I can't!" he shouted back, blue flames licking the blade in his hands. "Not with you—"

"Forget about me!" This spineless idiot was going to get her killed! But her fury ignited further when her eyes spared a small glance towards the town. People. The townsfolk had found them, followed them from the tavern or through the commotion and armed to their teeth with household items. Their determined look to help blatant in their expressions.  _ **Damn fools.**_  Baring her teeth, Noé kicked the dark djinn that bared its own at her before shouting at the top of her lungs. "Just fucking kill the damn things!"

It was a brief moment later that Noé felt it, the warmth of flames. Her eyes barely caught the flicker of the blue spark before the flames engulfed everything around her. The limited space left her no place to run to; Noé simply brought her arms up against her face to block the intense heat that burst from underneath her. She felt the currents of the flames lick all around her, her ears catching the shrieks of the dark djinn as they were engulfed by the same fire and their desperate thrashing against the walls of her magic.  _Good,_  she thought,  _burn in this furnace._  Rather quickly though, she felt the blaze getting to her too. She bit down her scream as the flames latched onto her clothes, like griddy hands grasping at her and rapidly scorching through it to reach her skin. And it burned. Gods, it burned like the fires hell.

" _Noé, release Ashieat Qafar!"_

"The dark djinn—they're still—" Noé could still hear their shrieking. They were still alive. They could still come undone from Sitri's fires if she let them run free. There was no way she'd let that happen.

" _You'll be burned to death along with them if you don't!"_

_Just a little longer._  Every painful breath that gave her air mixed with smoke she counted. Her ears in pain from the flames so close to her head attentive to the shrieks of the beasts that seemed to be never-ending.  _Just a little—_

A sudden pain like no other hit her, ripping from her lungs the scream she had kept in tenfold, as the flames burned away her drape and reached her back and  _that._ They were burning— _they hurt—_ and the pain of it pushed her beyond her breaking point.

Her focus broken, Noé staggered quickly back as the walls she created shattered into nothing but specks of light, the bright cerulean flames licking at her body until she managed to escape the cyclone. The pain remained even outside of the pillar of fire and her hands reach to her back to hold and soothe that which caused her the most nerve racking pain. Despite barely being able to see beyond the flurry of white specks that clouded her vision, Noé focused on what she held in her hands. A long wing, feathers a dark red with tinted golden tips, languidly rested in her arms. Some of the feathers held a black hue to them as the embers that had caught onto them died off, but the remnants of the pain were still there. Nerves, too many to count, had been scorched with Sitri's flames.

"Noé, are you alright?" At first she thought that had been Chief talking to her—her mind blurred with the aftermath more than she would admit—but as a hand gently laid on her bare shoulder, Noé found herself tensing but staring up nonetheless at the one who'd touched her so carelessly.

Niko. But he was different. His eyes didn't reflect the concern she heard from his voice. Instead all she saw was bewilderment— _fear_ —as his eyes darted from her own to the burnt wing she cradled in her arms. The moment was broken when the other townspeople reached them. Meaningless chatter echoed until the silence fell faster than she realized. The silence accompanied with the feeling she hated most, the stabbing sensation of stares.

Noé bit her lip willing herself to ignore their gazes as she struggled to stand back up. But every muscle hurt, every breath burned still. Sitri had done more damage uncontrolled than Noé thought.

"What are you?"

Noé couldn't help flinching at what Niko asked. The same question from when they exited Sitri yet different. Not a 'who' anymore. But as she knelt before them—exhausted of her magoi and tasting the disgusting iron of her own blood in her parched throat—Noé anxiously watched as their bewilderment morphed into fear and then anger quicker than she thought possible.

The moment she saw that her instincts went into overdrive, snippets of other times flashed through her eyes, overlapping the scene that kept worsening by the second. She was so occupied with keeping herself in the present that Noé failed to hear the shouts of the people, much less the word they began to chant over and over.

Monster.

" _Noé, you must run."_  The urgency was clear in Chief's stern voice, the only concern that she heard in anybody's anymore.  _"They're going to attack you. Flash away."_

A part of her believed they wouldn't but the part she believed in more shrieked at her to open her eyes. And one single glance at the crowd that now glared at her gave her the answer she needed. Weapons at the ready and eyes filled with fear-fueled anger, they approached her carefully but decisively. They had made up their minds. The last hope she had snuffed out as her eyes came to Niko who appeared at odds with himself. It was like he couldn't decide whether to join them or defend her. But when both of them overheard Mennie's call above the rest, Noé's eyes hardened as she watched what modicum of doubt was left in his eyes disappear. Niko tightly held onto Sitri as the flames lined the edge of the blade, his eyes askance, ashamed but determined.

" _Noé!"_

_I can't,_ she thought defeatedly as she struggled to back away from the looming crowd that threatened her. Her wounds were too fresh and too many. The pain from her burnt wing left her numb but she could feel the numbness beginning to wash off as a new wave of it began seeping through its nerves. That her magoi was exhausted from using such hefty magic only added to her problems. And the moon was not going to help her. _I'm out of magoi. I can't flash._

The harrowing memories of a time in chains and torture flashed through her mind, knowing that if she let them do as they wished with her the same could very well happen.

_**Do not allow them.**_  A pulsating pain rushed through her body, one of her hands reaching to her shoulder from where she felt the pain emanate.  _ **You cannot submit. A life of submission is not becoming of a predator. Even a deformed one as yourself.**_

The pain roared in her body as those words flooded into her, her blood boiling through her veins as her mind cried at her to fight, to neglect the pain and  _ **kill them**_  before they could get to her. Noé braced herself, her arms cradling her limp wing to her chest as the townspeople began rushing towards her, but instead of their weapons reaching her, they clashed against a dome of bright energy. Noé's eyes widened as she gawked at the dome that suddenly surrounded her; it took her a good minute to realize that what kept them at bay was a borg.

Everything that happened after recognizing the borg went by in a flash. A warm hand laid on her left shoulder—away from her wing—and held onto her tightly. Warmth that she recognized filled the air around her, the faint golden silhouettes of beating rukh filling the inside of the borg. But all that disappeared, her stomach dropping as the scenery changed, the in an instant Maladh vanished from her sight as another much more familiar one appeared before her.

Through her blurry eyes, she saw the the small room—her room. Her knees buckled beneath her as she felt close to collapsing. Thankfully, the same warm hands from before held her, careful not to touch anywhere near her back. But even if he had, she had no strength to fight him or to push him away from touching it.

"My goodness, Noé, are you alright?" Yunan's voice was heaven sent. Noé barely had any strength to give a whispered 'yes' before a soft scoff escaped her. Thinking about it better, she knew she wasn't and she wasn't just referring to her injuries.

Yunan helped her the best he could to the bed. Even with it being soft as any cloud she'd imagine, the comfort it brought didn't do any good to her wounds or heart. But Noé knew that with Yunan's help they would heal.

_Well, one of them at least._

There was no attention given to the wandering magi as he worked his magic to heal her burns. Noé closed her eyes and let him do what he could, her scorched skin being washed over by a cool, soothing sensation. She could hear him faintly muttering to himself as he worked.

"...how could they…?"

Noé wanted to reply to him but her bleeding throat didn't allow her.  _Thirsty_. Nonetheless, she knew the answer to that question; she'd learned it a long time ago. People are so easy to turn to violence when the things they love are threatened. Not only people, everything that breathed and lived held the things it loved dear and would do anything to protect them from harm. Even when that threat is only a perceived one and fueled by nothing more than misled fear. Noé understood well the dangers of creatures whose fear bred from ignorance. It was like some unspoken law of the universe, like gravity; people fear what they cannot understand. And Noé knew that the moment they had seen her wing untethered from its bindings and limply laying beside her, they would be fearful and wary. Everything happened so fast that there hadn't been time to think of what was happening.

She had acted in her desire to help the people she had thought deserving of her protection. And those same people turned their backs on her the instant fear crept into their minds, the instant they saw her as a monster.

" _ **When will you learn?"**_

Apparently not today.

**—{ii}—**

Yunan didn't stop healing her even after Noé passed out on her bed. Her burns were appalling and for that same reason he needed to make sure he treated her properly. It wasn't until he noticed her breathing less labored and her body not as tense from the pain as before that the magi finally stopped, letting a sigh of relief escape him as he slumped down on the nearby chair. His eyes lingered on Noé's resting form as he leaned his staff against the wall.

Most of her clothes were charred if not completely tattered from Sitri's flames. Her skin had taken most of the brunt but most of the burns hadn't been fatal except for a couple serious ones. That wasn't what worried him. No, what did was the wing that Noé had been cradling even before she passed out. She had held onto it the entire time it took for him to take her to lay on the bed. Even as she went to lay, she held steadfast to it, the scorched feathers clinging to her body. Yunan had never seen that—never knew that Noé hid such a part of herself from the world. But it existed. He was looking at it as Noé unconsciously wrapped it around her body, the span of the wing large enough to brush her ankles—and even when out of it, she clung to it. It was obvious to Yunan that she did not want him or anybody to touch it.

His soft baby blue eyes watched her with concern, half hooded as they inspected her injuries, before deciding to stand and part the drapes of the only window in the small bedroom. Luscious fields spread over the horizon of the small hillside. Not another house could be spotted over the expanse of the prairie where Noé's small cottage—her tiny refuge—stood. He guessed that she chose this specific spot for that same reason. Noé, for as friendly and outspoken as she was, seemed to like her privacy and solitude. Tying the drapes, he let the light from a barely rising sun bleed through the pane of glass into the small room.

Sunlight helped, he knew. It was one of the things he knew about her with certainty. Every other thing was mere speculation on his part. Knowing she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, Yunan took the time to explore the cottage he had helped build years ago but hadn't visited since. It was tiny. It only had four other rooms aside from Noé's: the living room, a kitchen, a lavatory, and an empty room. The essentials. But the more he walked around it, fixing what little cracks or mold he saw on the walls or floors, Yunan realized that most of the house was bare. Nothing gave it personality, nothing could tell it apart from any other house, except maybe for the trinkets she kept in that empty room. Few in number, he guessed they were reminders of better times. Happier ones. He didn't dare touch any of them though as he peeked through the door of that other bedroom. It was smaller than Noé's, fit for a child.

Yunan didn't recall this being part of his doing. The wood was real; it wasn't alchemically made. But he didn't pry. Not when this particular room had an air to it that told him not to disturb it.

The magi had to pass the time elsewhere and finally returned to her room when he began hearing shuffling from within. He gave the door a couple raps before gently opening it to let himself in. His baby blues met with hazed-over emerald; Yunan could tell she was still somewhat out of it. That didn't stop her from guarding her wing against herself.

Her eyes scanned the room before coming to him again. "Where…?"

"Your cottage just out of Reim, Noé," he related softly as he took the seat he'd left from before, "I took you away from Maladh—" Yunan laid a hand on top of one of hers; Noé tensed slightly, her eyes falling down to where his landed. Anxiously, cautiously. "Do you remember what happened?"

Her eyes focused on no particular point as she thought about it and Yunan clearly saw the moment the memories rushed back, her eyes widening slightly before slowly fluttering shut. The lopsided grin she gave made him grimace; she was taking this much too well.

He didn't voice that concern. Instead he watched as she lifted her head to glance at him. "Thank you for saving me, Yu. I owe you one."

"No debt incurred, trust me," he assured her, feigning the smile he gave her. Reaching with his other hand, he intended to see to her injuries but was shocked to see Noé jerk back against the walls next to her bed, her teeth bared. Noticing this, her eyes widened again, this time out of bewilderment as she forced herself to stop and shake her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

"That's alright," he whispered. He showed her his hands, his palms upright. "I'm just going to check the burns on your body." That didn't calm her in the slightest, her body still tense and ready to strike. Almost like a wounded animal. This time when Yunan smiled it was more genuine. "I promise you I won't go anywhere near it."

That seemed to relax her enough to let him see to her wounds. To try and settle her down further, the magi kept talking as he went about doing so. "Mm. Looks like I managed to heal most of them. It isn't all that surprising. Your wounds weren't as bad as they looked." He brushed his cool fingers over the burns on her right shoulder and saw her recoil. "Except for a few where the fires managed to burn through to the muscle. You will have to take care of those more diligently." Unable to help himself, his gaze traveled down to the wing she held against her body, a small grimace showing on his lips. "I could heal the burns on it if you let—"

"Thank you, Yunan." The magi pursed his lips, realizing very well that she had shut the idea down. She took a deep breath as her gaze fell to her feet, "I should have listened to Andromalius when she warned me about guiding a candidate to Sitri without a magi."

"You had no way of knowing things would turn out this way," he assured, trying to comfort her the best way he could.

Noé scoffed and gave him a lopsided grin, "I should have known better than to hope otherwise." She heaved a sigh and thanked him again for helping her.

Yunan shook his head, worry and grief marring his soft features even as he smiled. "No need to thank me. But I do suggest you rest here for the meanwhile. At least until your wounds heal properly."

She gave him a curt nod. "Will do." Yunan stood when she attempted to and gave her space to maneuver herself. She stumbled on her feet, like a newborn fawn, but quickly regained her composure. Once she did, she gave him a cheeky grin, "See, nothing to worry about. Fit as a fiddle."

"Your words have never done anything to quell my concerns for you, Noé." Yunan chuckled nonetheless, appreciating her humor in such a situation. Tilting his head, he nodded off to the door, "I'll make something for you to eat tonight. How does that sound?"

Noé gave a chuckle of her own. "You cook?"

"Magic does half the work," he replied, lifting his staff at her. "How does beef stew sound to you?"

"Wonderful." She gave him a dismissive wave of her hand, "I'll go help once I change into some more decent clothes." He smiled at that and left to give her the room to herself, but instead of heading straight to the kitchen, Yunan waited behind the closed door for a few minutes. Shuffling could be heard beyond the wooden door, her changing as she said, he assumed, but it suddenly stopped and brought silence with it. Yunan pursed his lips and waited on bated breath, watching the rukh that fluttered adoringly around the place. Although he knew most of them were there for him, the others that glittered in the sunlight were there for another reason. They were there for Noé. And the moment he saw them shift in the air before disappearing completely was when Yunan understood; he gave it a few seconds before opening the door to find an empty room. Burnt clothes were haphazardly thrown on the floor, the bed disheveled from used, but other than that there wasn't a sign of her.

A sigh escaped him as he tilted his green hat back to watch the rukh that remained in the room, their beating wings slowed, saddened.

"I know," he spoke softly to them, a sullen expression coming over him, "But there's nothing I can do about it."

Yunan couldn't stop her. Noé came and went into people's lives like the passing of seasons, but that didn't mean the people she met didn't affect her. What pained him most was that she chose to pretend like they didn't matter, like it didn't hurt.

_But humans are weak_ , she once told him,  _and I'm duty bound to protect the weak._

"My sweet girl, when will you understand that we're all human...including yourself."


	4. Quid Pro Quo

**|ii.|**

A little town bustling with life that has been missing for years, buildings once torn down by time being rebuilt of alabaster stone, and people once shrouded in misery and despair lookup with bright eyes towards a brand new future that lays before them.

And as Noé watched them from afar while leaning against the tiles of one of the buildings, she sneered at how they spent away in such happiness despite what happened. Barely a week ago, they had been nothing but a pile of shit on this earth. It had been because of her that they managed to rebuilt their town, but that hadn't matter to them. They had forgotten so easily about her and that infuriated her just as much as it gladdened her.

In the end, Noé realized as she watched them go about their new lives so blissfully that she had been mistaken before. These people weren't any more deserving of this world—of this eden— than any of the other weeds she'd ripped out from its soil.

_**Just another batch to remove later.** _

Scoffing, she couldn't agree more. Let them have their fun and bliss for now. They and those exactly like them would get their just dues eventually. That calmed her qualms somewhat. For now there was nothing else for her in Maladh. Careful not to hurt her healing burns, Noé climbed down the rooftop into a nearby alleyway that would hide her from the crowd even in the midst of such crowded morning.

"Maladh surely changed from what I remember it being. A djinn's powers and fortune sure can do wonders."

Noé didn't flinch away from the deep voice that came to her ears, not even when it was so close that it was practically standing behind her. Calmly, she turned to face the man that stood behind her just a few feet away. It was clear from his attire that he wasn't from anywhere here; in fact, the way he was dressed reminded her a lot of herself and how her own clothes resembled more a mosaic of different countries. His, though, leaned a bit more towards the kind of fashion she'd seen in Parthevia. Noé held her silence for a while longer and took the time to inspect the man fully. He was a inch or so taller than her—that was saying much seeing as she had just reached her peak of 5"9' a few years ago—which automatically irritated her seeing as she had to look slightly up at him. Under his hood, Noé could see a long braid of golden hair that ran down to his waist. Noé noted how different it looked from Yunan's or Scheherazade's—it wasn't a soft color like the hint of sunlight, it was a pure metallic gold. But apart from that it was his eyes that made her wary. Sharp and intense, they were the color of amethyst and radiated a cold that sent a chill down her spine. They were the type of eyes that she couldn't help but be annoyed with along with the cheeky smile he had plastered on his face.

Instinctively, Noé clicked her tongue before tossing her hair back. "And you are?"

"Sorry about scaring you—" Noé's expression turned aloof and she raised an incredulous eyebrow. He was seriously underestimating her, "—but I happened to be around here a week ago and well...I saw what happened. What they did to you." His hands came up to his hood and drew it back, the intensity from his eyes softening and the hue of his eyes turning warmer as well. "It wasn't right of them to treat you like that."

"I see no reason for you to care. Now scram before I give into the urge to pummel you into the ground in their stead." Being more than done with the conversation, she spun on her heels intent on leaving Maladh and these people for good.

"I care because I have the same goal as you, Noélia." Her skin crawled at hearing that name and she spun on her heels, glowering at the man that kept that same cheeky smile on his face. His head tilted slightly to one side at gaining her full attention. "I wish to find those you call recorders as well."

"Alright, who the hell are you?"  _And how the hell do you know that name?_

" _He isn't an original recorder?"_

No, Noé would have recognized him had he been. Even if he happened to be, she already knew that none of her original friends were alive anymore. But if this impudent bastard knew these things about her then he could very well know other things. And she would get them out of him one way or another.

The man smiled and bowed slightly before her, a fisted hand crossed over to his left shoulder, before responding. "My name's Rakah Azeri. Where I come from is really nonconsequential but if you're curious, it was a little city called Alexandria."

Noé narrowed her eyes, paying close attention to what he said. Alexandria, the name did ring a bell but she didn't know from where or how. Rakah stepped forward as he opened his mouth to continue, but when she took a step back, he stopped and blinked owlishly.

"You don't trust me," he said matter-of-factly.

"You're going to have to give me more than a name, kid."

Rakah chuckled and nodded pensively. "I see. Wouldn't expect less of you, actually." Raising his hands in mock surrender, he reached to his left arm and began rolling back his sleeve. "Maybe this will get you on board with me." Noé watched closely but her eyes widened as tiny purple sparks began flying across his hand as he rolled back his sleeve.  _It can't be._  But all her doubts were cleared once his sleeve was rolled up past his elbow and his forearm was visible. There on his skin was the faint mark of a sigil, a yellow eight-pointed star with two lightning bolts striking inside it and converging in the middle to form a diamond. The bulging veins were barely visible but they were there, sucking his magoi to create the dark sparks of lightning that flew across his skin like living tendrils seeking under it.

It was a seal, a gift, and he was its bearer. He was a descendent of Arikos.  _He has the Rumble of Thunder._

For a minute there was nothing but silence between them. It wasn't until the sunlight from above began to be clouded that Noé, perplexed, spared a glance to the skies above her and saw as gray clouds began to roll over them. As they did so, she could see them shift colors from gray to black to gray again. Her ears caught the faint roar of thunder and saw small flashes of the lightning inside the dark clouds moments before the rain started to pour uncontrollably. Shrieks of surprise from around the alleyward came and the people began running past the entrance to take cover. Neither she nor Rakah moved from their places though, her glower now directed at him. He scoffed not taking his eyes from the sky but lifting his other arm to cover his face from the droplets that fell overhead.

"Still don't quite understand why clouds chase me like that." He chortled, something that seemed to contrast the thunder clapping above their heads.

Noé did. "Cumulonimbus clouds are the source of lightning during storms. Rumble of Thunder conjures them and the rukh they contain to augment its powers—" and deplete hers.

It's what she had dreaded about finding the other seal bearers. Noé didn't understand how or why but the seals countered each other in some way, shape, or form. For her, both Rumble of Thunder and Peaceful Darkness were the seals to keep hers in check. It just happened to be her luck that she found the former.

" _At least you found one, Noé."_  She agreed but also heard the tone with which Chief said those words. She wasn't all that kin of the man who showed up so out of nowhere knowing exactly where to find her and who she was. It seemed too easy, too convenient.

_**You found him. Now take it.** _

_Not yet._

Noé took a complete 180 and showed him a lopsided grin, not caring for the rain that continued to pour on them. "Well, I'll be damned. You  _are_ one of us."

Rakah took his eyes away from the sky to look at her. "I sure am, whatever that means, anyway." His smile was sweet and boyish and crawled under her skin. "But I'm glad I at least found another one like me. I thought I was alone for sure."

Lying. He was lying through his teeth, that much was obvious. But deterring him was the last thing Noé wanted to do so instead she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lucky for you that you found me. How exactly did you?"

"Like I said, I was passing by Maladh a week ago—it's an old friend's hometown—and I happened to witness the fight you and the chieftain had against those beasts." His mood dampened then, a small frown showing on his lips, "And I also saw what they did to you, how they treated you. I've got to say that it wasn't right of them, no matter how you may look."

She narrowed her eyes at him at hearing that, a hand cautiously brushing against her right arm close to her strapped wing. "You saw?" Rakah nodded as a response. "And you're not afraid?"

"Afraid isn't the right word. I am curious, though." He chuckled and brushed his fingers through his wet hair, brushing bangs out of his face. "But maybe we should consider talking somewhere else?"

Noé gave it some thought for a second but realized before long that she kept coming to the same conclusion the more she thought about it.

" _You're not thinking of bringing him back to your cottage...are you?"_

Although it would be a stupid move, Noé knew that it was the safest as well.  _If he wants to play rough with me, he'll be the one in for a surprise._  She hadn't decided to have her residence there just because of the view after all.

" _If you think her spell will hold against another bearer then I won't oppose you. Just be careful, Noé"_

Noé nodded to herself and Chief, both agreeing to exert caution before taking a step forward to grab his forearm and flashing both of them away. Despite the relatively short distance separating Maladh and the outskirts of Reim, the drainage was minimal and thankfully the clouds were slow to follow in her flash. The sun bathed them both as they landed a few feet outside of her cottage.

Rakah blinked stupefied at the sudden change of scenery and it gave Noé quite the satisfaction to see that after how brash he'd been. He muttered 'amazing' under his breath before his eyes started scouring his surroundings and taking it all in. She didn't wait for him and instead walked inside the cottage. Rakah followed after a few minutes and after she took the time to change into dry clothes—not caring if he didn't—she took a seat in one of the chairs in her small living room and offered him a seat. He took it uncomfortably but she dismissed it and sat back against her chair.

"Now, lil' Azeri, how about you start by talking?"

"Why am I starting?"

Noé motioned her hands all around her, showing off the place. "We are in my home. And as a guest you owe me for staying. Now," she gave him an eager and cheeky grin, "care to start us off?"

With her gentle nudging, Rakah did oblige in the end and Noé took special attention in picking apart his story at every bridge he crossed. Firstly, she noted how he kept his own past as vague as possible, only mentioning that his master at Alexandria had taken him in and had been the one to teach him about the seal and burden he had as its bearer. Immediately her first interruption was on who this master of his was which cause him to paused, his lips forming a smile that didn't reach his eyes, as melancholy filled his voice. His gaze came up to meet hers and he simply replied with, "She's long passed. But she was a wise and strong woman, the greatest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

He left it at that and for some reason, Noé didn't feel like prying any further. Rakah quickly diverted the subject along to the struggles with his powers. The nimbus clouds were something he still struggled to chase away, he claimed, and noted how he would start many storms unintentionally. Noé assured him that it was natural; the powers of the seals weren't as easy to utilize as the magic magicians used. It wasn't borrowed from nature, it was imbedded in them, a part of them. Learning to use it was like learning to use an extension of their body they couldn't see or touch but could certainly feel. The struggle he described was something she could sympathize with to a degree.

Rakah explained that after some time of learning to use the seal that he became capable of speaking to the first bearer. "He said his name was Arikos."

Noé nodded but didn't verify anything to him. The boy might know her real name but she doubted he knew who she truly was, there was no need to give him any hints. So instead she played along and heard him out on what Arikos told him. Most of the times, his words were cryptic, puzzles or riddles he assumed; Noé knew better. Arikos always liked to toy with others by making them think harder than they should. And after hearing one of the many Rakah had been able to decipher from Arikos, she knew for a fact that it was him. Their contact was limited, though, apparently the connections between descendents was quite tattered by time. Although she thought it strange, Noé held her tongue and instead focused on what Rakah said next.

"The one thing he keeps repeating is that this world needs its champions to safeguard it. That he and rest of his brethren have a mission to fulfill given to them by their master."

It was here that Noé saw fit to explain further. "That we do." Weaving in some lies to make it believable, she continued, "From what I've gathered myself, they seek to reunite and with the seals combined release their master from her prison."

Rakah's eyes narrowed at this. "Arikos never mentioned  _she_  was imprisoned."

"Tragically so. Their master has the power to save this world from the darkness that's threatening to swallow it whole."  _ **Along with those nasty weeds and pests that infest it.**_  "But she cannot affect our world from where she lays confined. Our seals are more than just powers, they're keys." Noé watched carefully, eyes glinting in the bright light of the morning sunlight that poured through her open curtains. Chief told her that she had said too much but Noé set that aside for now. If she had indeed, then she would deal with those consequences later. For as much as she yearned to take Rumble of Thunder from Rakah, Noé knew of only a couple of ways to do it. He either 'gifted' the seal to her or she could take it by assimilating with his rukh; the latter was less than favorable to her.

_**But you won't abstain from the choice if it comes down to it.** _

Senseless violence for the sake of it wasn't how she liked things done, at least not where the descendents of her dear friends were concerned. If she was going to treat anybody with the dignity they deserved, it would be them.

"And this prison of hers…where is it?"

Noé heard the underlying tone of that question though she couldn't quite name it. Whatever it was, it warned her not to tell him that one piece of information, and for once she heeded her instincts. "That is something I'm researching myself. So far I have no clues as to where it might be. No solid ones at least." Leaning back against her chair, Noé heaved a sigh and brushed her fingers against the wooden armrest. "Now," she gave him a slight grin, "I'm sure you can gather that this conversation was merely a courtesy from my part. Seeing as we're both seal bearers, I thought it'd be fair to share that information at least." Noé clapped her hands getting his full attention.

A smirk rose to his lips and he raised a questioning brow at her. "Are you suggesting we collaborate?"

Her shoulders shrugged but her lopsided grin told him differently. "Two heads think better than one."

"How can I be sure you will disclose fully what you know and do if I accept?"

"How can I be sure you will?" she retorted.

He scoffed at her ingenuity and raised his hands up in surrender, "Fair enough. How about striking a deal then?"

This time it was her turn to hum in inquiry. "A deal?"

Rakah told her not to panic before reaching under the folds of his coat to bring out a wand that was quite shorter than his forearm. It wasn't until that moment that Noé realized that not only was Rakah a bearer but he was also a magician.  _Deadly combo._

" _Is that so?"_

Absolutely. Unlike them, magicians made it their life's work to understand magic. Knowledge gave them power unlike any other because it allowed them to deconstruct and reconstruct magic formulae in infinite manners. Imagination, in their case, was the limit. A magician that also happened to be a seal bearer was definitely something not to be taken lightly. He may not be as powerful as a magi in terms of limitless magoi but he was on par with them where lightning magic was concerned. Perhaps even more so. Theirs was a raw power. It wasn't a part of life, it created life. And in the wrong hands, it could very well destroy it too.

Noé thrummed her fingers against the armrest waiting for him to continue. Rakah took the initiative then and tapped his wand against his right forearm where a dark purple mark appeared. It was an intricate design of three dark rings entwined around it, like snakes, that glowed lightly under the sunlight. "I'm a magician, but aside from that, I specialize in brokering."

"I know of your kind," Noé spoke pensively, leaning her chin against her hand, "You curse people into deals so that no foul play can happen. You usually work for high-end trading companies or governments, don't you?"

"I'm more of a freelancer." An bubbly chuckle escaped him then at recalling another thing, "And it's not really a curse. Just an intricate magic formula. Otherwise, you got it pretty on point."

"Are you suggesting we enter a contract?"

"You just met me," he stated blatantly with that same grin on his face, "And you clearly don't trust me. I don't fault you either. But we are aiming for the same goal; I may not know much about the seals or about Arikos and who or what he was but I can agree with him that there's a darkness spreading throughout the world and at an alarming rate at that. It can't be left to roam free to spread further."

Noé thought her options through, her mind running miles a second as a silence came between them.

" _Do you trust him to do as he says?"_

 _Hardly,_  she confessed,  _but I'm not fond of the idea of robbing him of his seal. And if I can get him to gift it to me, it'd be best for the both of us._

Chief pondered for a moment, her soft breathing slowing down before she sighed in the back of Noé's mind.  _"What will you do then?"_

_**Wait. Watch.** _

A grin spread across her lips and Noé stood, taking the few shorts steps to stand before him as Rakah stood alongside her. There was no hesitation as she stretched her hand out, palm open. "Then let's make this mutual, why don't we? You help me, I help you."

"In whatever we may need?"

"In this goal of ours," she specified, her grin turning taut, "You and I know something about ourselves that rarely anybody gets to before they die, we know our purpose. And we have a duty to accomplish it."

Rakah gave her a boyish grin and nodded. "You are right on that. I for one wouldn't want to see the world die off that easily."

" _Noé…"_

 _I know._  Noé didn't know what it was that both she and Chief perceived from the boy but it was more than evident, no matter how much he tried hiding it behind cheeky smiles and sweet words. She would have to be cautious about how she dealt with him. Whatever he may say his intentions are, Noé knew that she would have to take his words with a grain of salt. And she would have to make hers just as explicit and vague.

"Agreed," she muttered under her breath before taking his hand into hers, "Here's to us helping one another in our mutual goals. So we can save this world."

His grip tightened around her hand and he gave a smirk that reached his eyes, "Let's." The moment they agreed, Noé was blinded by the bright dark light that came from his arm before she felt the sharp sting that began to crawl on her arm. She could have sworn she'd felt it before—a pain that crawled under her skin, perforating it and latching itself onto her very blood—but it was gone before she had anytime to tell and in its place, along the inside of her forearm, the dark ink of magic left its mark.

The moment he released his hold, she took her arm back and inspected the ink left behind. It contrasted against her dark skin, the mark that was so similar to the one he had on his, and glowed faintly despite the brightness from outside coming in. Noé knew of the 'ink' left behind on those who used brokers to negotiate their deals. Each was distinct to the broker, and since only magicians could broker, the inks they put on those they dealt with were unique to the magician. Noé gave the mark on her forearm a small appraisal; it wasn't anything over the top from the looks of it. The rings—the snakes—looked disjointed on the back of her palm and up her arm, as if they had been separated from one another. Sparing Rakah's arm a glance as he rolled down his sleeve, Noé noticed the same thing on his. The rings weren't complete anymore; they had split between hers and his. They were pieces of a whole separated between the players, she guessed.

Noé fisted her hand a few times but found nothing wrong with it. It still functioned as it should. The only thing amiss now was the disconnected snakes.

"By the way…" Noé couldn't understand why it was just now that she noticed the lilt in his voice, but figured almost instantly she would come to dislike it. "There is one thing I'd like to ask now that we've entered this mutual arrangement."

Her eyes narrowed then.  _There's the catch._  When she remained quiet, Rakah saw this as his queue to continue. "Being only two of us searching this large world, I'd figure maybe sharing a bit might do us good."

His statement was vague but she combed through it well enough to know what he meant. "You want Grace of Sunlight's powers?"

Rakah immediately raised his hands up in mock surrender as he smiled. "I don't want your gift if that's what you think. I was thinking more along the lines of linking with you."

Hearing this made her eyes narrow even further, scrutinizing the boy before her. Noé was astounded that he even knew about linking.

" _Noé, what is he talking about?"_

That's right. She'd forgotten that Chief didn't know every nitty gritty detail about her seal.  _Seal bearers are able to propagate their powers through linking with others. The amount of people we're able to link with depends on how compatible and able its bearer is. It's reminiscent of how you lot choose your household members, actually._

It was a process that although knowledgeable about it, Noé was far from familiar with. Unlike household members, linking with others wasn't very preferable in her opinion. Although linking with others did lessen the burden of her penance, it also greatly diminished her powers alongside it. To her, she lost more in that bargain than she gained. She could live with a little parched throat if it meant having her powers to herself.

But even at denying him this, Rakah persisted albeit rather passively. A grin quirked at the edges of her lip.  _How interesting._  Seeing his grit, Noé opted for another option to test him. "Okay, fine. I'll let you borrow Grace of Sunlight."

"Great," he perked up, "then let's—" but a lifted finger from her made him quiet down as she picked up the conversation.

"But it'll be discarded magic."

His brow furrowed and his smile faded. This clearly wasn't what he wanted to hear. Oh, how she relished in this. "What do you mean?"

Getting up, she walked to her dresser where from an old wooden jewelry box she picked out an long necklace from where a small glass sphere barely the size of her thumb hung. Noé's grin grew as she held it up for him to see from where he sat. "A vessel where I can put in magic you can use."

"Linking would be easier."

"And far less convenient for me," she admitted straight forward as she came forth to lean against the back of her own chair. "You want to borrow Grace of Sunlight?" As emphasis, she tapped a finger against the glass sphere and channeled some light magic into it. The sphere glowed a bright orange before it died down into a faint shimmer as the light morphed into a faint substance reminiscent of fine grains of sand. "Then you will under my own terms."

Noé applauded his tentativeness. He knew he was getting shafted, but the way she saw it. at least he was getting something. In the end, he opted for his best choice as shitty as it may seem. "Fine, I agree."

"Don't pout, Ra-chan. It makes you look childish." She cupped her cheeks as she leaned her elbows on his chair's back while from one of her fingers dangled the chain and sphere. "Think of it as a magic tool. In fact, that's exactly what it is. It'll need refueling and you'll need to learn how to channel it, that's really the downsides of it. But being a magician yourself, I don't think it'll be all that difficult for you. Look on the bright side, though."

"There is one?" he asked sarcastically making Noé chuckle. She kind of was enjoying this snarky side of him that was surfacing.

She nodded as her answer before explaining. "You will use what's around you instead of creating it like I do. It won't use up as much magic as linking would."

A half grin came to him then. "The small blessings." He stretched out his hand towards Noé then asking for the necklace. Noé smiled sweetly and reached out to give it to him but before it fell in his open palm she pulled it up just as he closed it.

"One more thing."

"What is it now?" he asked evidently getting annoyed at her pulling his leg.

"If I ever see the need to, I'm allowed to cancel this contract of ours."

"You can't propose that now. We already contracted."

"I beg to differ." She chuckled and tugged at the necklace still between her fingers, dangling it like the delicious fruit it was. "You're the broker, Ra-chan. You can change the deal as you see fit so long as we both agree. So let's jot those down, shall we? You say we have to gather our brethren and their powers. I agree with you there. But I won't agree to your methods if they clash against mine. If this happens I won't let you have anymore of Grace of Sunlight." She pulled back the necklace as a feral grin came over her features. "And if need be, I will take yours as well."

His eyes steeled then as one of his eyebrows rose. "Are you threatening me?"

Noé wasn't bothered by his sudden change in demeanor and simply shrugged her shoulders. "That's just my promise to you, so take it as you will. Either way, those are my terms. Your choice whether to take them or not."

"You make it sound like this is benefitting me more than you."

"Because it is. As things stand, you need me more than I need you." Noé gave him a boastful grin then, a few teeth showing, as she rested her case and extended the necklace one more time. "So, what's it going to be?"

**—{ii}—**

Carrying a basin back and forth between the river and house always left Maahes exhausted to his bones. Despite being 22, Maahes was not the strong type of person; activities like these mundane house chores did tire him out but unlike the chores he had to do for work, he didn't mind these so much.

As he let the flowing water fill the basin that laid next to his feet, Maahes swept a hand through his long white hair that was wrapped in a low ponytail before deep blue eyes wandered over to glance at the back of the cottage from afar, the small speck that it was from his position, and the garden that laid behind it. A smile crept across his lips at the sight of it. Tending the gardens that Miss Noé kept not far from her small house was one of the few joys to him. Not only was the place beautiful and small, it seemed to mean something to her and if it was to help keep something as special as that alive for her, he could deal with being sweaty for a couple of hours. Taking a deep breath and wiping said perspiration from a dark-skinned forehead, Maahes brazed himself and hauled the basin back to the house.

A few minutes and stops along the way later, the young man found his way to the edge of the garden. Maahes took a breath before he began to water the flower beds that littered the space. Miss Noé never said how she managed to get so many wildflowers to grow there, but he didn't complain. White lilies were a rarity in Reim, often flourishing better under the sunlight that places like Maurenia and Cathargo got to the south. Those were what mostly laid in the garden with only smaller ones bringing a bit of color aside from the prairie's grass. Maahes watered while humming a tune under his breath but stopped when the creaking of the front door sounded through.

 _She's here!_  His smile widened at that since the times when he happened to see Miss Noé were few in between. Leaving the basin and ladle he'd been using to water the plants, Maahes sprinted out of the garden, careful not to step on the lilies, and rounded the house expecting her but finding a complete stranger exiting the cottage.

His brow furrowed just as a blond man spared him a glance from arranging his gloves back on his hands. Amethyst eyes met a deep blue and blinked owlishly a couple of times before smiling at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you coming this way."

"I-It's fine," he muttered back under his breath, his gaze falling away from the man. "I thought you were—"

"Maahes?" Deep blues circumvented the blond man and caught the sight of the woman who'd spoken and who he knew best. His glee returned at seeing Miss Noé come from behind the man and he quickly took the few steps to reach her side. "You're here?" she asked in a quiet voice.

But before he could answer, the blond man stepped away from them to turn towards Noé. He tipped his head modestly and spared them a smile. "I'll be in contact with you, Noé." She only muttered her agreement to something that Maahes didn't know. "Hope next time we meet it's with better assets in our arsenal. You two have a good rest of your day." With that the man turned about and went on his way.

Miss Noé didn't even wait for him to disappear beyond the hill before she went back inside the cottage. Confused, Maahes couldn't do much else but follow as he began to ask, "Who's—"

"Business partner."

Odd. Maahes never knew she worked anywhere where she'd need partners. He shook the thought out of his head as Noé went about the kitchen making some tea. As the water boiled, she came back and ruffled the top of his head affectionately and got a chuckle out of him. With their height disparities—she a good half foot taller—it always made him feel like a child. It wasn't something he completely disliked though.

A lopsided grin came to her and she leaned back against the counter propping herself with her arms. "It's been awhile, Maa. How have you been?"

 _Yeah, two years is quite the while._  But Maahes had figured out some years ago that Miss Noé did not have the most accurate internal clock. She would often confuse a few months with a few years whenever they reencountered and he would have to explain to her exactly how long ago they'd last met. Is that so, she would reply and simply dismiss it like just another season having passed. It didn't bother him much, though. He liked that part of her, frankly, the one that didn't put any attention to the unnecessary.

"I've been good, Miss Noé," he began, "Work has been grand. Commander Alexius says that my latest work has helped his troops with training."

"Oh, Natty's using your inventions?" Maahes chuckled at the nickname Miss Noé had for Commander Alexius and nodded as a reply. Her laughter rung through the cottage and mixed with the whistling of the boiling water. She poured the tea for both of them and guided them back to sit by her small dining table. "That's great, Maa. Good to hear, really."

"How about you, Miss Noé?" Maahes perked up when she boastfully lifted her chin and chuckled.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Try me," he jested with an airy laughter. That was all the incentive she needed to start on one of her stories about her many adventures. Maahes never knew how much of them were real since she often times exaggerated things, but he knew that if any of them would be true, they would be the ones of her dungeon diving.

* * *

**|i.|**

There were times when Noé wondered the same thing that crossed Chief's mind about her decisions. This moment was definitely one of them. Slim fingers thrummed against her thigh as she sat cross-legged before the problem before her.

" _Noé?"_

"Mm."

" _What are you going to do about this?"_

"Frankly, I'll take your suggestions," she muttered under her breath. Emerald eyes trained on the tiny body of the white-haired boy resting before her. Noé had seen strange things while dungeon diving, and over the past years she had grown more than accustomed to it, but it wasn't often that she found things that weren't supposed to be in dungeons...like drowning kids. She heaved a sigh still not getting why she bothered to save the boy.

" _You're not one to leave the innocent to a cruel fate."_

She supposed that was a reason. Her mind wandered on about her logic but her eyes went back to the boy. The poor lad had been struggling in the running waters of the dungeon when she saved him; the dark skin and white hair told her that he was obviously a native of the country. With the guards that had been outside the dungeon, she mulled over just how such a young-looking boy snuck his way through. But those thoughts escaped her as the boy began to groan awake, turning on his side as he coughed up. Dark blue eyes widened and stared bewildered at her after scouting his surroundings.

Noé smiled at the boy and waved dismissively. "Hello, boy. You feeling alright? "

He blinked owlishly, breathing heavily from almost drowning, but he managed to nod after a few moments. She smiled and nodded alongside him trying to get his head set back on the earth. When she asked him to speak, the first thing he said was "Maahes."

Her brow furrowed at hearing this. "Huh?"

"M-My name…" he mumbled between coughs, wiping droplets that clung to his hair and fell to his face away, "My name is...Maahes."

_How odd._

" _Look at his clothes, kid."_

Her eyes fell on the wet clothes—ripped at parts, dirty, simple—that clung to his tiny body. Tiny, malnourished. Her eyes narrowed as they filled with pity.  _Poor thing's a slave._  Noé hadn't been to the southwestern part of the world often which is why she wasn't very well versed with the countries or peoples in the southern deserts. But Heliohapt turned out to be a pretty normal society. Aside from being isolated, the people were broken between their ruling factions. Something she noticed despite not putting much attention to it when she did. It bothered her—slavery always bothered her—but like always she rarely did anything about it. There was little that one person could do to change a transnational practice like slavery, anyway.

Which brought her back to her original query of how a slave managed to enter such a highly guarded place. Giving some of her water to the kid, she watched over him until she settled to ask him, "So, what's a kid like you doing in a dungeon?"

His big blue eyes shot up at her and pled for her to keep quiet. Apparently he knew what he'd donw but also appeared to want to be here. Stranger still, but Noé took it in stride. It wasn't any of her business anyway. It wasn't until after she assured Maahes of this that he decided to open up about why he was there in the first place.

Maahes wanted the djinn. He wanted to escape his life of servitude and explore the world...to learn. Noé felt for the boy, she knew exactly what that was like. So instead of leaving the boy to fend for himself, she took him along partly because she was empathic about him. And also because she would need someone to capture the djinn of this dungeon, one she still had no clue of who it was.

_You really have no idea who this is?_

Chief heaved a deep sigh as she thought about it. Noé didn't interrupt and simply gave her time. Surely she would come up with something while seeing the dungeon as she and Maahes traversed it to get to the treasure room. But even as they stood before the last room's open entrance, Chief still had nothing. Noé really thought nothing of it. It wasn't like they hadn't plunged into dungeons without knowing the djinns they housed before.

The moment she heard his voice, though, she knew better than to step so carefree through this treasure room and quickly pulled Maahes back against her before fracturing the light to shroud them.

"Welcome, humans."

" _Oh dear…"_

"I am the djinn of spirit and puppetry…"

Noé paled and held a hand over Maahes' mouth as he struggled to be let free and figure out what was happening. But she couldn't allow themselves to be seen. Chuckling nervously under her breath, Noé lightly knocked her forehead against the top of Maahes' head.

_Why out of all of them did it have to be Zepar?_

* * *

**|ii.|**

"You're leaving so soon?"

Noé's lips turned to a taut line as she began to take some of the desserts Maahes had made for tea. Hours had already passed since their chat and a dull morning had turned quickly into a very animated evening. Frankly, she enjoyed the time with Maahes but she tended to leave the time she spent in her cottage at a minimum. And since she had recovered already from what happened at Maladh, she was ready to head out again.

Back to dungeon diving. And her new broker 'friend' had given her quite the drop of information as well. One she wanted to verify for herself.

"Sorry, Maa, but there's much for me to do still. I came by to rest up a bit is all. Sorry I can't stay longer."

Maahes took a deep breath and reciprocated the gesture. "That's alright. It's not like I don't understand. Things have been very hectic at Reim too." The boy pursed his lips pensively, "Especially with Commander Alexius and the Fanalis Corp."

"They've been training more than usual?" she quipped with a chuckle.

"That, and I've been hearing stuff. Something concerning the country-state that's across the sea to the east, I think."

Noé stopped briefly from stuffing her face with food at that comment but finished her treat quickly afterwards, licking her fingers off from the cream, before speaking. "Magnostadt?"

Maahes snapped her fingers. "Yes, them. It's a country of magicians, right?"

"Yeah," she replied as she continued to pack some supplies in a simple knapsack she had lying around in the cottage.

Magnostadt. She hadn't been around those parts of the world since before the Musta'sim Kingdom established itself. Noé had heard of the revolt from the school and had also heard the outcome of said revolution, but because there hadn't been many dungeons raised there, she seldom went around those parts of the world. But if Reim was beginning to be wary of the place perhap it would be a good place to look into.

_But later. We still have somewhere else to go to first._

Having finished packing, Noé turned to Maahes as he finished cleaning what dishes they had used. A lopsided grin came to her lips as she tossed the knapsack over her shoulder. "You take care, Maa. Things seem to be getting interesting for once."

Maahes nodded solemnly before smiling daintily. It always amazed Noé how even after growing so much, Maahes still looked younger than his years. He looked so gentle, kind, and understanding. And he was all those things and more. "I will, Miss Noé. You take care of yourself too."

Noé mumbled her response under her breath as she headed to the door. Before she stepped through the threshold though, she turned to glance over her shoulder at the boy. "And thank you for caring for the garden, Maahes." She didn't wait for an answer, quickly exiting the house before instantly flashing.

In an instant the quiet prairie of Reim's countryside was replaced by the lively burghal island of Sindria. Her nostrils immediately caught the scent of salt and her ears thrummed with the sounds of the ocean waves lapping at the island's edge. Over the sea salt, she could also catch the superfluous scent of spices that overran the city's marketplace. Although she loved Sindria for its culture, it wasn't her destination, so instead of staying to enjoy the food as she usually would, Noé stepped out of the alley she'd flashed to and took the road heading for the ports.

" _You're really going to take the boy Rakah's advice?"_  Chief asked, wariness and disbelief weaved in her voice.

_It's not unfounded._

Noé knew two of the three magi currently alive personally. And although it had been sometime since she last talked to Scheherazade, Yunan often told her about the dungeons he constantly rose and collapsed. From the last list he had provided her, she had gone through eleven of the twelve in the past years. The one that Rakah told her about during the long talk was indeed the last one on that list she had still to visit.

An island off to the south of the Sindria Kingdom, one inhabited by people of Toran. Rakah described the dungeon like Yunan had word for word.

_Let's finish Yunan's list first._

" _As you wish,"_ Chief agreed with solemnity.

The Toran. A smile crept to Noé, her ears buzzing with the chatter of their language as she walked through the village. How nostalgic.

" _Like a gift for you pretty lady?"_

A chuckle escaped her at seeing the young toddler that approached her holding a necklace made of shells. More of her little friends hovered around her, offering gifts and other knick knacks clearly handmade. She laughed again under her breath as she hunched down so that the little girl could place the necklace over her head. They were so cute thinking they were swindling her. Reaching into her pocket, Noé took a handful of gold coins before distributing them around to the kids. Their eyes grew wide and sparkled as the fat coins landed on their palms.

Lilting her voice to speak, Noé ruffled the little girl's head as she stood up,  _"You lot take that back to your parents. Keep one for yourselves too. And stop tricking people."_

A chorus of thanks resounded through the children, some snickering from that last comment, before they scurried off. A scoff escaped her, her hand reaching to accommodate the shell necklace they'd given her, before going about asking the locals about the dungeon. Many were astounded she could speak their language, and speak it so fluently for that matter, but she guessed her appearance did give off a very foreign vibe. But as she went on gathering information, she noticed that many said the strange tower was off limits for them and that anybody who wanted to approach needed to talk to the chieftain first.

" _That would be problematic."_

No kidding. Noé was definitely not the best diplomat. She doubted that talking to their chieftain would help her get anywhere near the dungeon.  _Plan B it is then._  Stopping a young lady, she asked a vague question but one that would get her the information she needed all the same. Thinking Noé wanted to be wary of the dungeon so as to not be snagged like all the others, the woman pointed and describe the area to be careful off.

_Near the reefs, huh?_

" _You think you can flash your way through?"_

_If I take it piece by piece, sure. Besides, I only need to come close enough for the dungeon to whisk me away._

That in mind, Noé went off to the outskirts of the village before hiding to flash out. From her voyage from Sindria, she had gotten a clear view of the many little islets surrounding the mainland and recognized those that the woman had described from memory. She flashed from islet to islet to get there, stopping briefly at times to let the rays of sun replenish her magoi before continuing on, and before long reached an island big enough where she could catch a glimpse of the dungeon itself. Flashing to it and finding a tree to survey the area, Noé perched herself on it watching the dungeon from afar and taking the time to take a couple of water.

"So that's Zagan," she mused a bit disquieted.

" _By the looks of it,"_ Chief replied before heaving a sigh.  _"Are you sure about this? Zagan wasn't quite fond of you recorders, if I recall correctly."_

A nervous chuckle escaped her as she dropped from her perch to the ground beneath. "He may not be fond of me but I still think it's worth a try to speak to him."

" _Should I remind you how bad your attempts ended when you went into Leraje's and Zepar's with that same optimism?"_

She'd rather not. But high probability didn't equate certainty.

" _But it damn well predicts it, kid. But if you still want to go in then I'm with you every step of the way."_

"Thanks, Chief," she mumbled under her breath as she trekked through the jungle to get closer to the dungeon. "Let's be honest here, though, you do enjoy my being pummeled down a notch or two from time to time."

Her confidence dropped at hearing Chief's bellowing laughter through her head.  _"I won't lie to you, it is quite amusing seeing that when it's due."_

Noé mocked her laughter but stopped short when a glint of something at the dungeon's entrance caught her by surprise. Her eyes narrowed, hearing sharp, but nothing prepared her for the flash of light that swept down from it to wrap around her whole body. The sudden tightness of the tendril caught her by surprise, her ferocity wanting to lash out and escape from its grasp, but she managed to control herself long enough for the dungeon to do its job and drag her into itself.

A blinding light caught her eyes before she saw that world again. And then all at once everything went dark.

* * *

**|i.|**

It was incredible that Zepar was still as much of a child as before. Even if he was the head of the imps, he was still an imp in the end. Regardless of that, though, Noé understood why his tests were so harsh concerning the subordinates of his potential king candidate.

Speaking of which…

_That's the little sailor boy from Baal?_

" _Years change a person, Noé. And time is different for them than it is for you."_

True but she was surprised still to see the sailor from Baal's dungeon so grown. She didn't remember well when that had been—almost four years ago?—but she knew that he hadn't looked like that or had as many companions as he did now. Guess the years did change people.

"Miss?" Noé hushed him with a hand over his mouth. Even if he whispered, speaking was still quite a hazard in this dungeon now that she knew it was Zepar's. Coming closer to his ear, she tried her hardest to whisper as lowly and with as few words as possible.

"That's the djinn. It's not safe right now for us. Let's wait and watch for now." Curiously, Maahes listened and nodded before relaxing in her hold. Now that she had him more calm, she tried guiding them closer to the arena to watch. If Sinbad the little sailor was here then it made her job easier. However a part of her mind doubted things would go as smoothly as she thought they would. This was Zepar they were talking about, after all.

And the tests he gave to Sinbad's companions were brutal. Two knocked each other out after managing to summon their household vessels. The next pair—two freaking kids for crying out loud—duked it out next. What she hadn't expected was that they would refuse making Zepar control the redhead she hadn't noticed was a Fanalis. But what surprised her most was the assassin that had used his previous abilities to fake his own death to 'pass' Zepar's test. Oh, little sailor boy had gotten himself a particular crowd indeed.

But that last stunt cost Sinbad his candidacy. And it seemed that they would certainly remain here if Sinbad's only remedy to the situation was violence. Truly, he hadn't taken anything into consideration even after seeing Zepar's powers.

It appeared one of the little ladies with him had though. But with her up for candidacy brought up a whole new game of Zepar's.

But just as they were about to start, Maahes curiously turned his head up to whisper. Loudly. "B-But what about me?"

Everything after that happened way too fast. Noé knew that if she had been able to hear his whisper that loudly then Zepar had heard it more than clearly. But she didn't wait to confirm it. The instant she felt the atmosphere around her change, Noé used her metal vessel to materialize shields of light around her and Maahes. The boy screamed in her tight hold as the sound attacks burst through every angle. The shields were not strong enough to withstand the relentless attacks, though, and broke within moments. Noé didn't hesitate to cover Maahes with her body to take the onslaught that came against them. Taking the full brunt of it while protecting him threw her off her feet, tossing her onto the ground and breaking her illusion.

Maahes mumbled unintelligibly, shock and concern pouring from his words, but Noé sat up with him in arms and smiled down at him despite the pain from the assault. "You okay, Maa?" The name slipped from his lips like a prayer as tears began to prick at the corner of his deep blue eyes. But the moment that Zepar spoke up again, the little Heliohaptian boy strapped his arms tightly around her torso, holding onto her like a lifeline.

"You _…"_

Noé knew this would happen if she were found in this dungeon but damn did the imp hit hard and relentlessly. From the group of travelers, a loud gasp was heard from one in particular, the sailor boy. She scoffed, apparently she wasn't the only one that remembered their meeting.

"H-Hey," she called out loud enough for everybody to hear but focused her gaze at the djinn, "mighty welcome you gave for a king's candidate."

Zepar glowered, baring teeth as he grew in size to tower over the whole of them. "You and your kind are no candidates for our power!"

His declaration made her scoff, "Seems Chief Romali thought otherwise."

His eyes widened slightly when hearing that but he regained his menacing composure almost immediately before lifting his hand towards her to attack again.

" _Equip me."_

 _No point._  Zepar could control her as easily as he had done the little Fanalis cub. And with the amount of power she had, he would definitely just make her attack everybody else. She wasn't about to risk innocent bystanders to fight against a childish and impudent imp.

"Stop!" Emerald eyes widened and stared at the young man that stood before her and Maahes sword held aloft to defend them. All Noé saw however was the back of a little kid that had broaden and whose spine had grown over the last few years. Sinbad eyed Zepar calmly, raising his weapon only in their defense but not seemingly to fight him. "Why are you hurting her so out of the blue? Aren't you djinn supposed to treat all those who enter your dungeon equally?"

Zepar clicked his tongue annoyed at Sinbad's interference. "Vermin like her don't deserve us. They come from a traitorous master, and I will not consign myself to her even if she were the last person in your world."

"My master was no traitor." Noé knew very well that speaking now would only put her in worse trouble but frankly that mattered little to her now that Zepar had spoken so blatantly about  _her_. Baring her own teeth, though that did little to intimidate such a being, Noé glared up at him. "She aided you, she fought for you, she freed you—"

"She betrayed us, she betrayed  _him._  That makes her a traitor. And as one of her disciples, you're no different." Zepar swept his outstretched hand to the side and Sinbad got transported back to his group, baffled and too far away to reach and protect the two of them as the djinn raised his hand once more at her. "And I will never accept a traitor as a master."

She didn't know what he would do so Noé held onto Maahes tightly, protecting the boy, as Zepar flicked his hand away. Noé took a punch to the gut that robbed her lungs of air as she felt gusts rush by her hair. Taken aback by the hit, she closed her eyes and waited for the feeling to leave her. That ended when out of the blue her back hit solid ground, her wing throbbing painfully from the hit as she skidded across the sand to a stop. Noé took a deep breath once she noticed she wasn't moving anymore and opened her eyes to find herself blinking at an undying sun whose rays ruthlessly hit at the ground she now laid on.

_Did he…_

Chief sighed through her nose, the gesture more than a little upset.  _"He expelled you from the dungeon."_

_You guys can do that?_

" _If circumstances call for it. Killing you seemed like his preferable option from what I saw however. I guess he's not as brazen or childish as you thought if he knew and took into account the consequences that particular action would bring."_

Gee, Noé sure was glad to be her for once because dying was not in her plans right now. Or anytime soon for that matter.

The spewing so near her face reminded Noé of the child that she still held tightly in her arms. Her hold slackened and it allowed Maahes to lift up from his spot lying on top of her. "W-Wh-pft-what happened?"

"The djinn threw us out of his dungeon." A first for her, and knowing the others that weren't particularly fond of her, she guessed it wouldn't be the last. "Sorry, kid. I thought I'd be able to get you that power."  _And those riches._

Maahes didn't answer. Instead he helped himself off of Noé and silently sat with his legs tucked beneath him, his skin touching the scorching sand. Noé let a sigh through her nose at looking at the boy so devastated and doleful. This had been his chance to live a different life than the one he had before. His chance to be more than a piece of meat someone sold and that others tossed around for work.

And because of her, he lost that.

" _His circumstances and yours don't coincide that way, Noé. You saved him from dying."_

Those words meant nothing when she heard Maahes sniffling only to see him quickly rub at his eyes to whisk the tears away. Tears that came from knowing the same thing she did.

_And he gets to live out the rest of his miserable life in servitude because of me._

_**You cannot change what is.** _

She knew that—her hand reached up to grasp at her left shoulder sullenly—and she frankly doubted there was anybody out in the world who understood that fact for what it was better than her. But as that same fact kept replaying in her head, another much louder one spoke above it.

_Maahes is not me and I won't let him be._

Letting go of her shoulder, Noé reached out to Maahes and took his cheek into her hand. She gave him a small but kind smile when his deep blues eyes with huge droplets of his tears swimming in them stared up at him incredulously.

"Hey, Maahes, would you like to come to my house to have some tea?"


	5. A Promise of Yore

**|ii.|**

Noé took a deep breath allowing the scent of flowers and nature to fill her to the brim. She had to give it to Zagan that as far as dungeons were concerned, his was the most pleasant and aesthetically pleasing she'd been to. This flourishing life, so strange and bountiful, gave her a strange sense of longing. How she wished she could bring this to her garden.

" _Concentrate, Noé. We must find Zagan."_

"Right," she admitted. But with the first step she took, something squeaked under her foot. Emerald eyes scrunched shut, guessing just what exactly she stepped on, before looking down as she lifted her foot. Underneath it was a tiny elephant-looking creature with tiny roots coming from its trunk. It rubbed its head and angrily shouted gibberish that she couldn't understand while waving its tiny fist at her. "S-Sorry," she mumbled and watched as the dungeon creature puffed it's chest and smacked her foot.

Brave little bugger. It kept hitting her over and over but it didn't bother Noé since it didn't hurt at all. The sudden change in the creature's angry expression however got her attention as it jumped startled before running off in the opposite direction towards one of the many doors scattered in the room.

_What the…_

Scurrying caught her attention from the creatures that did the same as the elephant creature and ran away scared. Some dropped their baskets full of fruits, others hurried their children. They were petrified...but not of her.

It wasn't until she heard rattling behind her that Noé turned about to face what had frightened them to safety just as it lashed out at her with its tail. Unable to avoid the impact, Noé braced herself for it instead but still took the full brunt of the hit from her back crashing against the far off wall. She fell down to her knee, panting and pain traveling across her back, but her eyes traveled up from the ground to the monster that attacked her.

A snake—a black cobra—brought its tail back from the attack and lifted its head from the floor, it's eyes and head covered by a fractured stone mask and its black hood spreading as it opened its jaw to show off its fangs. Noé couldn't help but see the potrutions coming from inside; they were small and she could also faintly see them quirming. The slithering reptile's markings glowed a dim neon cyan in the bright space taking her full attention and from its fangs liquid of the same color dripped corroding the ground it fell on. Noé blinked, disbelief blanching her skin and chills running rampant through her skin at seeing the reptile open its jaw wider.

"...snake…"

" _Noé, are you al_ — _"_ Noé didn't hear the end of Chief's sentence, her thoughts bombarded by even more panic at seeing that from behind the cobra's head another two surfaced which despite being less protected were no less menacing. Instinctively, Noé took a step back.

"T-T-Three-headed snake…"

" _Noé—"_  The cobra pulled back and shot forward,  _"Noé, move!"_

Her whole body twitched as Chief's warning snapped her out of her stupor and immediately jumped out of the reptile's heads way out of reflex. Keeping her distance, Noé hid behind a tree and watched as the creature reeled back searching for her.

"T-That thing," she stammered, fear still clinging to her very soul, "It's not a dungeon creature."

" _No,"_ Chief assured her, trying to be the voice of reason and composure for the two of them.  _"It's a dark djinn."_

That didn't make sense though. "Black djinn come from humans who go against fate. If it were a dark djinn, wouldn't it take a more humanoid form rather than t-that—that  _thing_?!"

" _Not necessarily. Dark djinn take the form their rukh wills it to once it's more refined—"_ Despite listening to her, Noé's attention was mostly on the three-headed cobra as it kept sticking out cyan-colored tongues. Her nerves went haywire the second all three heads turned towards her direction and lunged towards her. Noé yelped, flashing out of the way to midair where she landed on the serpent's otherside. Her eyes scanned her surroundings and found a door that was different from all the others and was wide open. The faint scent of ashes and spices left a trail leading up to it.

_Someone else's here._

The hissing that came from behind her as the cobra riled back from its last attack immediately turned her instincts on overdrive.  _Fight or flight._  Having wasted time in looking back, she opted on following the faint trail left by those scents.

Chief returned to what she had been in the middle of explaining just as Noé traveled through the different rooms where the scent was more poignant,  _"—or if it's just an amalgamation of many different rukh, it can take varying forms."_

Noé cussed under her breath as she stood before a large opening in the floor surrounded by charred plant remains. The scent...it went down into the darkness below. Panting, she allowed herself a few seconds of respite and asked, "What's your gold on?"

" _An amalgamate. But it's also—"_

The sound of hissing and slithering made Noé glance over her shoulder at the door she left behind. The cobra wasn't in eyesight yet but its movement were just coming into earshot and it was approaching her fast. "It's infected."

Chief hummed in agreement. A bit of Noé's resolve returned to her, some of the fear caused by the cobra abolished as she took a step back before taking the jump leading down the chute. The ground was farther than she had expected but it gave her time to measure the distance and stick the landing, rolling into it and avoiding damage as much as she could. A few feet away a single door stood completely open, one that led to the necropolis inside Zagan's dungeon and where the scent became potent enough for her to recognize it.

_Aladdin._  Her will steeled, she ran down the spiral staircase ignoring her mounting dread as the three-headed cobra slithered so close behind her after falling from the chute itself. Even from where she was, Noé caught the sight of a dark magic circle above in the sky. Someone was summoning Extreme Magic.

_I can help._

" _Behind you!"_

Noé took Chief's warning instantly and crouched to lunge herself into the air just in time to avoid the serpent that charged at her. Not skipping a beat, she flashed upwards into the air and turned with her hand outstretched and her light bow in it. Bringing her other hand back and nocking an arrow, she aimed at the cobra and unleashed a flurry of arrows. The amount were enough to push the dark djinn over the edge of the spiral staircase and into the depths of the city. Now that it was injured and ways away from her, Noé gave herself a minute to breath as she landed but it was quickly cut short the moment the floor beneath her trembled before one of the towers in the necropolis shone with light.

_They're there._  Flashing through most of the distance, Noé ran into the treasury just as Zagan let his hand fall pointing at one of those already present in his treasury. "My master will be...you, Ren Hakuryuu."

_He chose already._  But he hadn't disappeared yet. She could still try talking with him. Noé let herself catch her breath as Zagan explained why he had chosen this boy over Alibaba, and to her it made sense. A djinn was free to choose at their own discretion after all. She was about to speak when shrieks from outside caught everybody's attention making them turn towards the exit and finally realize she was there.

Alibaba was the first to speak out at recognizing her. "Y-You're the lady—the one from Amon's dungeon!"

The one that Zagan had chosen as his master, Hakuryuu, looked over at Alibaba somewhat puzzled, "You know this person, Alibaba?"

Aladdin was the one that answered for them both. "We do. We met her when we captured Alibaba's djinn, Amon."

Although Noé was happy that they recognized her, she pushed that aside in favor of dealing with the more pressing matter. With a pointing finger, she directed all of their eyes to the outside of the treasury and towards the necropolis. "The Toran villagers you just liberated need protection."

"Protection?" Alibaba repeated. "But we captured the dungeon already, haven't we? The dungeon creatures shouldn't be attacking them anymore."

Noé turned up to face Zagan to reply to this, ignoring the blatant glare he gave her. Apparently someone else recognized her as well. "This isn't a dungeon creature. This has been eating them and grown to an amalgamate of dark rukh."

Zagan's eyes narrowed at her, "Another dark djinn?"

Before she could ask about this 'other one' more screams began to come from outside. The urgency of the situation didn't allow for questions. What mattered in that instant was making sure that three-headed cobra didn't get to the villagers. Noé turned from the djinn to Alibaba and Aladdin, "I need your help protecting the Toran villagers."

"We just fought a dark djinn ourselves," Hakuryuu explained to her, stepping up from the others to speak to her. "We all are exhausted and our magoi is at its limits. We cannot fight another."

"You won't be fighting it, I am." All pairs of eyes widened at that declaration but what was more blatant than their shock was Zagan's obvious doubt.

"You intend to fight on our side?" he scoffed and scowled at her. "That would be a first."

This time it was Noé's turn to scowl and glare at his impudence. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to respond any differently to her than Zepar and Leraje had but she had hoped that seeing the urgent matter posed before them that he would at least be civil.  _Hoped for too much, it seems._  But before she could give some sarcastic remark, she stopped herself. There wasn't a point in stooping to his level and have a petty banter when people's lives were at stake.

And not only theirs.

Whatever infected Pernadius in Reim, whatever infected the dark djinn that appeared in Maladh, it had come into Zagan's dungeon and infected whatever it could find: dungeon creatures and humans alike. It took life from this place and corrupted it against its will. And she had witnessed how menacing a monster like that was her first time against one back in Reim—how all it touched corroded and became a part of it. How it consumed unconditionally to amass more power. It was a dark entity that perpetuated darkness and it didn't care what it destroyed in its path.

Noé would not allow it to continue as it wished. Not when she had the power to stop it from spreading into the world.

She offered them a smile before giving her back to them. "Whatever you may think, Zagan, I stopped caring about the moment I became a recorder. I don't care about what you or any of the others say, we have and will always be at your side to help you. Even now I will do exactly that even if you don't want it of me."

_Spirit of Candor and Credence, in the name of my magoi, envelop me to grant me greater power. This I command of you and your household. Dwell in my body, Andromalius._

A blinding light from her metal vessel engulfed her and burst into a flurry of light that left her in her full body djinn equip.

Auburn hair turned a golden color and was held up in a high bun at the back of her head held together by a golden garland with its leaves accentuated with rubies. Long strands of hair were left loose before coming around the back to be tucked into the bun, surrounding her now long pointed ears both of which now had crimson feathers coming from behind them. The feathers trailed down from behind her ears to run along her neck and finish on her collarbone where a gold piece started. The gold bib necklace wrapped around the base of her neck with two thin pieces while on her chest two gold circles fell, one inside the other. The smaller one fell right at her bosom and the surrounding larger one covered the front of her chest; five pieces lined outward from the outside of the smaller circle and extended behind the larger one giving them the appearance of rays of sun. From the rays closer to her sides, smaller golden chains dangled to wrapped around her back and connected around the back of her neck. The middle ray that laid just over her abdomen connected to white fabric that wrapped loosely around her hips and stopped short of where her thighs started along with a see-through gold sarong underneath that ran to her knees. Although her upper body remained human, her legs became animal-like, turning into crimson feather-covered legs which ended in sharp talons. The outer part of her arms and up to her shoulders were covered in light feathers visible at certain angles as the light hit them. Her limp wing fell over her left shoulder like a makeshift cape as it wrapped around from her back while from the scarred right side of her shoulder blades a makeshift wing made of materialized light hung low behind her, the light working the same as the feathers on her arms.

Emerald eyes glanced over her shoulder to the group that was gawking with awe blatant in their eyes. Giving them a warm smile, Noé said, "You guys keep the villagers safe," before turning around towards the door. The translucent feathers of her right wing shifted and became a sash that came around her shoulders and with a kick off the floor they allowed her to fly off towards the necropolis outside.

Quickly surveying the surroundings, she noticed that the Toran people were scattering about trying to escape from the jaws of the three heads that hunted them.

_How long can I hold my equip, Chief?_

" _You've used too much already, at this rate—"_

"How long?" she repeated, punctuating her words with a hiss.

Andromalius remained quiet for a second before responding.  _"Without the sun...ten minutes."_

More than enough.

Noé wasted no time to fly down closer to the ground to get a better eye on the dark djinn. Reaching her hand out, her light bow materialized in it, more intricate than before, while the other plucked one of the light feathers on her arm to nock on her bow. The invisible string stretched and the feather transformed into an arrow as she aimed at one of the heads as is rushed at a villager. Noé let it fly and it shot through faster than the eye could see piercing one of the heads before exploding into shards and rupturing the head in an instant.

"Noé onee-san!"

Aladdin's call made her glance over her shoulder at him, Alibaba, and Hakuryuu as they rushed out from the treasury to the open space of the city. "Take them to the treasury, Aladdin!" Her eyes came back to the cobra that was starting to get over the stupor of one of its heads exploding from the inside. "This monster's mine."

Releasing more arrows its way, Noé made sure to take its attention away from Aladdin and the others to give them time to coral the people away to safety. But a few moments after having destroyed it, it was frightening to see that its head began to regenerate from the stump that had been left behind. It was fresh and fully grown within seconds and baring its fangs at her. She clicked her tongue at seeing this; the thing had a reservoir of magoi somewhere. That was the only thing that explained how it kept regrowing its head even after she pulverized it. But as she kept hurling arrows at it to keep it at bay and scanning its body for the source, Noé couldn't find anything that remotely looked capable of harboring magoi for the djinn.

There was the option of searching diligently for it and getting that over with so that the fight would be easier for her but with how limited her time was she couldn't afford to. At this point, exhausting its reserve was the best way of killing the beast she could think of. After five minutes of pummeling its body with volleys, the serpent drew back and lifted its heads up in the air. When its jaw hung open though, Noé managed to spot a bright purple sphere that glowed where its uvula would be.

_It's core._

But the moment was brief. Energy instantly accumulated in its mouth before it shot off. Noé evaded it, flying upwards as the magic decimated parts of the city in a single blow. That was a powerful attack for having such a low casting time. But it allowed her to see its core, and now that she knew where it was she could shoot it down.

" _One minute, Noé."_

"I've got it."

Rushing down towards it, Noé hovered in front of it and waved her arms around to get its attention. The snake turned her way and immediately opened its jaw to charge again. Noé gave it no time though and instead shook her arm to let all the glistening feathers fall and flutter around her. The three heads stopped and let its jaw drop to watch her as she swept her arm across. A burst of light came through and from the feathers duplicates of herself stood indistinguishable from one another. They lifted their bows and without a word began firing at it. The dark djinn couldn't aim at any single one so instead it went to attacking them directly. They weren't hard to catch and they ruptured into pieces as soon as it clamped down its jaw on them. It wasn't until it made the last one disappear that it searched around bewildered.

"Great huntress of the skies, let my aim be true. Purge the darkness with your light and bring about the dawn of a new day." It turned at hearing her speak and saw her with her arms lifted straight before her but with nothing in her hands. The dark djinn didn't waste a second and immediately opened its jaw to charge. Seeing her chance, Noé finished the incantation, a grin coming to her lips at how the dark djinn failed to notice the magic circle beneath them while fighting her doubles.  _"Alfajr Alsahm Alkhariq._ "

_Focus._

The instant she cast her extreme magic, the entirety of the dungeon turned dark for a split second. That same instant turned slow in Noé's eyes as the light everywhere vanished, a glow emanating from her hands as the light gathered in them. In that instant, she saw the dark djinn hang its jaw open but unlike before the split second it took to charge its attack felt like an eternity to her.

_Aim._

The light in her hands took shape as she drew one arm back and kept the other steady. She held no bow, instead choosing to concentrate all her magoi into the one arrow. Unlike her normal ones, this one struggled to keep any resemblance to an arrow, the magoi in it being too much, but Noé knew it would hold long enough for her. Focusing her sight on the glowing orb that hung in the dark djinn's mouth, Noé took a deep breath in and released the arrow with a single word.

"...fire."

The arrow flew in the blink of an eye striking the dark djinn at its core and instantly exploding in an array of light that illuminated the whole necropolis in its bursting. The core of the dark djinn destroyed, Noé watched it writhe in pain before its body solidified and turned a charcoal so fragile that it couldn't remain upright and crumbled to the ground.

_It's over._  Letting out a deep sigh, Noé let her djinn equip fade as the air escaped her. She stumbled back, having been at the edge of her limits, but luckily a couple of arms caught her own and held her standing.

A lopsided grin came to her lips as she faced both Aladdin and Alibaba. "Thank you, boys."

"T-That was incredible…" Alibaba fawned, stuttering in his praise.

"Thank you, Noé onee-san," Aladdin said as they helped her walk back to the treasury where all the others were. "You helped us."

"Not really." Her eyes came up to the villagers as they cheered her for saving them. The sight made her scoff especially after her experience in Maladh. But at least they were safe. "I just helped you help yourselves."

Hakuryuu came up to them to assure them that all the villagers had been kept safe. That was more than enough recompense this time, she thought. She thanked the three of them for having done as she said despite their injuries. None of them bothered acknowledging her gratitude, though, saying that it was the right thing to do.

_Right thing to do...huh?_

A piercing glare sent chills down her spine and made her look upward to Zagan who still hadn't disappeared despite already having chosen a master. As the villagers busied themselves with gathering the treasures of the dungeon, the three boys stayed with her.

"You did help them, after all," he said unamused.

"I said I would," she retorted hoarsely. Despite how tired she was and how much her throat hurt from how her seal was reacting to her lack of magoi, Noé didn't let him get the better of her. "As a recorder I vowed to preserve your history and past but as your champion my vows were to safeguard your future."

Zagan raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. "Vows are nothing but words waiting to be broken. Your master proved that to us."

Baring her teeth at him, Noé was about to stand up and call him out but stopped when Aladdin stood before her with his arm outstretched keeping her from moving forward. The brave little magi's expression was unfazed, a taut line painted on his lips as he looked up to Zagan.

"I don't think Noé onee-san is a bad person, Zagan."

"But magi, you do not know what she and her kind, what her master, did to us. She does not deserve—" but the smile that came to Aladdin stopped Zagan in his tracks.

"Maybe I don't really know who she was back then. But what I do know is who she is now." Aladdin turned to the side to face Noé with an adoring gaze and smile that took her aback, "Noé onee-san helped us in Amon's dungeon and she helped us protect the villagers as well. She risked herself more than once for us and others, for people she didn't even know." The small smile then changed, breaking into a grin all of his own. "And even when I only know her because of that, I believe that Noé onee-san would never falter from helping others. I believe and know that she is good in her own way."

Noé was ready to disprove him. The boy had no idea what he was talking about. There were many things that she was and that she wasn't. And what she knew for a fact was that she wasn't noble or selfless. Her intentions had always been selfish—it was how she was raised to see the world. Zagan was right. And yet despite being told this by a djinn, the magi chose to believe what he saw, chose to believe what he'd experience. A part of her wanted to contradict him, to prove to him that, unlike Teosa, she truly was someone to be wary of, but at opening her mouth words didn't leave her throat. Instead a small taste of water touched her lips. Her fingers reached up and a bated breath escaped her at touching the silent tears that had escaped her eyes.

Wiping furiously at them, she lowered her head to hide it. Chief helped calm her by gathering the light around her, a glow that began surrounding her like a warm cloak.  _"Aladdin is right, Noé. Circumstances and the actions of others might have shaped you, but it is your own actions that define who you are."_

"If that is what you believe, magi, then I will not try to dissuade you further." Zagan turned to face Noé just as she lifted her face after wiping it. "The fact that your kind and your master disgust me won't change, but it will be my foolish hope that you serve him better than your master served our king."

_That again…_  It wasn't like she didn't know or wasn't aware of what had happened. She knew what Teosa did—what she had caused—but also believed with all her being that Teosa couldn't have done that by her own will. There was just no way that she would have deliberately killed the two people she loved most in the world.

And although she yearned to know why, she withhold her judgement about it. She would always believe in her master. But she would also see to it that things never repeated themselves again. "My will is my own and I intend to serve him as well as I served my own master."

Zagan groaned dissatisfied with her answer but deflated before turning to Hakuryuu while still addressing her. "You're really nothing but a lapdog still. Well, at least that undying reverence will serve a purpose now." In an instant his body disappeared and entered the blade of Hakuryuu's polearm.

WIth him gone, Noé could finally breathe as she fell back to a sit. Grinning up to Aladdin, she softly said, "Thank you, lil'  _princas_."

Aladdin stared blankly at her for a moment before smiling warmly. "You're welcome. But onee-san, I'm just Aladdin."

_Just Aladdin,_ a tender smile crept to her lips at this, somewhat understanding the implications of such words.

She scoffed at his simplicity. "In that case, I'm just Noé, 'just Aladdin'."

Aladdin chuckled at that jest. "You're funny, onee-san." Offering his hand, he helped her get up to walk over to the transfer circle that was complete to take them home. Standing by his side, Noé smiled and brought her hand over his head to ruffle his hair before placing it on his shoulder to lean on him for support.

"Sorry," she said as she tried to stand by herself.

Aladdin didn't seem to mind and wrapped his arm around her waist to help keep carry her weight. "It's alright. You used almost all of your magoi to destroy that dark djinn. You shouldn't push yourself."

She offered him a smile and accepted his help. The moment the pillar activated, though, it sent her on her own just like it always did. How she hated that light magic acted differently with her. But with just herself and her thoughts, it allowed her to reflect back on the fight. The dark djinn had been a hassle to fight, more than it should have. She was sure that had it been a fight on the outside where she could syphon rukh from the sun there wouldn't have been any problems. But this showed her just how ill-equipped she still was in controlling and dealing with her naturally small reservoir of magoi.

_Looks like even after all this time I still have things to learn._

" _No matter the years, we always have something new to learn,"_ Chief said, pensively but proud of hearing her admit her own shortcomings.  _"What are your plans then?"_

Learn. She needed to train vigorously under the right hand. She may be in peak condition physically but through all these years she had neglected to study properly how to use her little amount of magoi efficiently.  _And depending on the seal won't cut it._

And throughout all her travels, she knew of one tribe that could teach her well enough.

"I think…" she whispered hoarsely, her eyes fixed on the world they would soon return to, "it's time to go back."

The blinding light overtook her sight for a split second before she found herself at the top of the hole left behind by the dungeon but found that their troubles were still far from over. Taken by surprise, a cyclone took ahold of her and swept her upwards, the blades hitting her every which way before it seceded and dropped her on the ground. Not only her either. As she lifted herself off from the ground, she noted how Aladdin, Hakuryuu, and Morgiana had been swept away as well, injured from their endeavors in the dungeon. They were too weakened by it; they couldn't fight anymore.

_But I can._

Noé gritted her teeth ignoring the agonizing pain of her body overflowing with magoi as the seal instantly began to replenish it as soon as the sun hit her. But with how beaten her body was from the attack and from having just used so much strength conjuring her extreme magic, replenishing her magoi so fast was causing her body more harm than good.

" _Noé, stop it! You can't fight like this!"_

"I have to," she groaned through gritted teeth. Pushing herself up, she felt the headache that had been mounting in the back of her head spreading and making her dizzier than she thought she'd be. The dehydration was hitting her hard with how much magoi the seal was replenishing. Despite it being full now, she couldn't hope to use either it or Chief's magic.

She bit her lip, hoping the pain of one would dull the other, and stood up staggering a few steps before facing the three that threatened them. The weapons they had put her on edge. She'd seen dark metal vessels once or twice before, but they had been underdeveloped pieces of junk that didn't hold a candle to the real ones. But now she knew the danger they posed to her and the others. Unable to use her own, they would be a hassle to fight...but not impossible. She would just have to rely on old tactics to deal with them.

Seeing as they were waiting for her to make a move while talking amongst themselves of how helpless they all were, Noé slowly loosened the obi around her waist enough to allow her to reach back and free her wing from its confinements.

One of them, the brany one that had his vessel active, tilted his head curious. "Who's the woman?"

The eyepatched swordsman shrugged. "Not one of the targets, so it's not our concern."

"It is if she stands in our way," the old man in the wheelchair said aloud.

Their blatant dismissal of her presence gave her enough time to mentally prepare for what she was about to due. Noé took a deep breath to brace herself a split second before she rushed at them.

"How idiotic." The brawns used his metal vessel, the dark arms from his armor extending out to catch her but Noé was fast enough to evade them. Jumping out of the way, she grabbed tightly to the end of her wing with her left hand, ignoring the pain from her grip. Just as she was about to land, she forcefully willed the feathers to react to her instincts. She felt them as they curled to her command, slow but just fast enough, and steeled; feeling them harden against the wing as she landed on the ground, she stopped sharply before turning about and whipping the wing out with her hand in their direction. The feathers flew with an accuracy that targeted the three of them in a straight line but even their sharpness akin to steel daggers didn't faze them when the brawns only swept them away with his dark arms. The feathers strayed and impale against the trees around them. No, not all, she realized, her eyes narrowed on them.

"What an odd attack." The brawns took the red steel feather that stuck out from his metal vessel. He gasped at touching it, the sharpness of it cutting at the slightest touch.

"Well, she's still willing to fight," the swordsman proclaimed aloud to his companions.

"Take care of it, Zurmudd," the old man announced and made the brawns step up to fight her.

Gritting her teeth as the pain heightened with her tight grip on her wing, she counted her blessing for what it was. If they wanted to fight her one at a time then it would only benefit her. The sudden taste of iron and the warmth in her mouth told her differently as she coughed into her mouth.

" _Your body is too hurt from the influx of magoi. It's not a matter of what you can fight with, you can't fight in this condition!"_ Chief's warning was heard but she decided to ignore it. If she couldn't protect Aladdin and the others then she would be exactly what Zagan and the others thought her to be, a liar and a traitor.

She had already let someone precious to her disappear from her life. There was no way that would happen again, not if she had the breath to fight it.

Dodging away from his attacks as they came, Noé did her best to skirt around him before spraying her steeled feathers. While some hit, most of them were blown away by the whirlwinds caused by his attacks. It was only a minute later that she began to feel the warmth of blood dripping down her wing. Her tongue clicked in annoyance as she realized that she had severed more feathers than she should have. The blood told her that she wasn't using her old feathers anymore; these last few attacks had been with growing feathers, ones that were deep-rooted into the wing. That explained why her attacks had become even less effective than they had been before. Developing feathers didn't steel as well as fully grown ones.

But that wouldn't stop her. Even if she had to strip her wing bear of feathers, she would fight them off as long as she needed to for Aladdin and his friends to regain consciousness and run.  _Only a little longer._  But just as she was about to avoid another attack, her legs suddenly refused to move, her body so engorged with magoi that she couldn't muster them to.

And even when she screamed at them in her hoarse voice it was futile. Zurmudd caught her off guard with the whirlwind sending her off into the air as the blades of wind cut her every which way. Unable to move still, she fell freely, and couldn't avoid the hit that came her way from the metal vessel's arms. The punch hit her directly in her gut and with nothing holding her in place, it sent her flying out of the island and towards the sea with a devastating force and speed. The water hit her hard as she sunk. Still conscious enough to hold her breath, Noé tried hard to not let her pain take away the concentration she attempted to muster. The uncontrolled influx of magoi left her too burdened to move but with it she could try and flash herself back.

" _Noé , don't—"_  But Chief spoke to late—not like it would've changed her mind—but what neither of them had noticed was how the rukh fought against her seal. It wasn't until she flashed thinking of the battlefield she had just left but instead landing in another that she realized what had happened.

It'd never happened before. The seal had never disobeyed her. But as she hit the ground sending white petals flying and obscuring the bright blue sky she saw above her, she grasped just how beaten and tired her body actually was. There wasn't a muscle she could move now. The quick influx and her lack of rest to adjust to it had cowed her more than she had wanted to admit. Bitter tears sprung at her eyes at the thought of Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu alone, unprotected.

Dead.

_Because of me._  The thought so vivid that it ignited memories of loses so akin to that frustrated her but quickly disappeared at the thought of getting up to try again. She had the magoi, flashing wasn't the problem anymore, she just had to brute force it. But just as darkness began to take ahold of her blurry vision, a silhouette stood over her, darkening her surroundings before they were meant to. But they were only a few seconds before she blacked out.

**—{ii}—**

Time ticked away. Not only for this world but for the others. Rakah couldn't stand wasting time and he absolutely despised those who made him wear it thinner than it already was. And as he stood in a secluded corner of the prominent alabaster temple, he grimaced at the mere thought. The Regia was a magnificent structure, a temple fit for its  _sacerdos maxima_  and her disciples, and although Reim was a very well guarded country, they did respect their religious freedom to leave the temples unguarded inside.

The faint sound of dainty laughter echoing through the walls calmed him a bit as it told him just who was coming down the halls of the giant temple.  _Finally,_  he groaned but didn't stand from his place leaning in one of the spaces hidden by two pillars. He watched as two women passed by in the middle of chit chatting in quiet whispers and waited a little longer until their voices were a bit fainter again. Stepping out, Rakah turned his head towards the women seeing them wave their farewells before they parted ways. One went ahead to exit the temple, surely to return to the Regia, while the other took a turn into one of the side exits that led further into it.

Following quite a distance away, he shoved his pockets into his pants as he walked through the open arch that led into the garden. It was well kept with flower beds scattered around and surrounded by statues placed all about the garden. What stood out was the fountain in the likeness of the goddess which gave the temple its namesake. Rakah found the woman on the other side of the garden near a balcony that overlooked downhill towards Remano, Reim's capitol. But most importantly it was away from prying ears and eyes. Still, he chose to err for the side of caution and instead of facing out towards Remano like she did, Rakah gave the city his back and kept his gaze towards the open gardens.

"You seem well." Her voice was sweet, demure, and as beautiful as she was, but he knew that beauty often hid the worst kind of nastiness.

"I'm not here for idle prattle," he retorted, already fed up with having been made to wait. "You told me to wait to give your report but as far as I see you just prolonged giving me nothing."

She laughed behind her hand. Had Rakah not known better, he would believe her to be the epitome of gracefulness that she feigned to be. Or maybe she was and he just wasn't able to see how she was using it to her advantage, whatever that may be. Really, he would never understand women.

"I didn't ask for an extension to give you fruitless answers," she replied, her voice delicate but loud enough for him to hear her. "My darling pets found a little sparrow in a dungeon to the south."

With his arms crossed, his grip tightened onto his arm. On the surface, he remained impassive. "And?"

"She's a seal bearer."

He clicked his tongue. "Information is useless if it's nothing new. I made contact with her awhile ago." Rakah held his tongue after that. No need to tell her that he and Noé had pacted. "You are as useless as I thought you to be."

The insult didn't faze her and the smile on her lips grew. "She's marked."

The mere mention got Rakah's hand to come up to his chest, just over his heart. His eyes narrowed as his hand fall back to his arm. "You saw it?"

"Barely," she admitted, "but it is without mistake. She is one of master's couriers, one of us."

Rakah's eyes went askance at receiving that information. Had he known she was marked he wouldn't have pacted with her. He had enough to deal with quelling his curse. He didn't need hers to intercept with his via their contract. But it was done and Rakah couldn't back out of it now. At least from what information they had—little as it may be—he could tell that it hadn't progressed. If either due to lack of time or because of something she was doing to keep it at bay was unclear. But the pact wasn't the only thing worrying him either. Rakah just couldn't keep much of an eye on Noé anymore.

_Not when I finally found the last one._  After scouring countless worlds using the limited traversing that both Grace of Sunlight and Peaceful Darkness allowed him, he had finally,  _finally,_  located Ceara again. And this one...he knew this one would be the one to at last call upon Silver Echoes. It was an instinct so innate that told him this that he couldn't ignore it. He had to stay with Ceara—no matter how much it aggravated to see her with that man. He would hate to have to leave this simpleton girl to manage Noé but the choice was out of his hands now. If what he wanted was to keep an eye on Ceara then he would have to leave Noé to her.

"Then it should be easy for you to keep watch over her if she's marked."

"Of course," she replied, tilting her head to the side to face him. Soft green eyes stared back at his amethyst as a smile curled her lips. The tiny scurrying took his attention for a brief second as, from the shadows created by the pillars of the temple, small black rats with beady cyan eyes scurried out whisking away from shade to shade before disappearing. "My darlings and I are more than capable of handling Miss Noélia."

"Then do so," he said and rose from leaning against the balcony to a few steps forward. "And whatever happens, do not engage her."

"What if she begins to pry?" she asked genuinely perplexed at his order.

"Even if she does, whatever she finds won't connect back to either of us," he said. "So do as I say. Don't fight her." Because if she did, Rakah knew that she would stand no chance against Noé. And their numbers were already small as they were. He didn't need less tools to work with when his arsenal was already so tiny.

A smile spread across her lips and she nodded. "Very well, Mister Rakah. Then you shall deal with searching for the remaining seals and I will deal with Grace of Sunlight and Miss Noélia."

He didn't acknowledge her reply and instead left her to herself in the balcony. As he strolled down the steps of the temple he spotted one of the rats scurrying through the darkness. Rakah wasn't too keen of the woman since she appeared so ambitious. It was how much she managed to control the powers given to her by her own mark in such short time that told him exactly how greedy she really was.

_It's always the cute ones._

Walking up to one of the rats as it hid beneath a shade cast by the temple, Rakah stared down at it, his eyes cold and merciless. "And one more thing." The rat's head tipped up and tilted as if listening. "Don't try to take Grace of Sunlight for yourself. If you do..." He stepped onto the rat, the small burst of light magic beneath the sole of it squashing it out of existence.

Rakah might have his qualms about killing Noé for the moment, but if it were anybody else he would strike them down as quickly as his lightning let him. He'd gone too long searching for their escape, and he wouldn't let a fake like her try to steal that away from them.


	6. Treasure Hunt

**|ii.|**

The sunlight struck her close eyelids, the pouring light barely tearing through the darkness behind them, but the uneasiness it gave Noé didn't let her lay down in peace. What a shame too since the bed was so comfortable.

_Bed…?_

Struck by a sudden pang of horror and panic, Noé sat up from her bed and scanned her surroundings only to find herself in the inside of her cottage. Her mind reeled unable to understand how she managed to get here when the last place she remembered flashing to had been the garden, and even before that—

"...Aladdin."

"He's okay."

Taken aback by the out of place voice, she turned with one hand at the ready on her wing, her feathers steeling over as she backed against the wall to leave no opening. Pain suddenly robbed her of any thought of attack though as wounds she didn't realize she had pained her at the brusqueness of her movements.

Rakah rose from his seat and took a few steps to approach her. "Don't move like that. Your wounds will open back up."

"Stay back!" Noé's sudden holler caught Rakah by surprise but got him to stop in his tracks as he raised his hands up in notable surrender.

The stupid smirk she remembered him having was replaced by a taut line and hardened eyes that locked on her. "Calm down." He slowly raised his hand to point out the only window of the room and in the garden's direction. "I saw you when you flashed into midair in the back garden. You passed out just as I got to you."

"W-What did you mean...he's okay?" she asked unable to formulate a coherent sentence from how scrambled her thoughts were.

"You said Aladdin," Rakah repeated, taking the few steps he could closer to her bed. When she snarled at him again, he knew not to get any closer than that. "He's alright. So are Alibaba and those others from the dungeon you were in. Down south, remember?"

"How do you know that?"

"You mumble in your sleep." But her narrowed eyes remained, not believing a word he said. Rakah pouted a bit childishly before continuing, "The boy from before—Maahes, I believe he's called—he also mentioned where you went. I went to check up on that and they're fine. I don't know what or how it happened but they returned to Sindria safe and sound."

The skepticism she held was understandable. There really wasn't a way to see just how much of the truth he was telling. If any.  _Chief?_

" _What he says about bringing you inside is true. Young Maahes was here within the hour and was the one who nursed you back to health. Rakah simply waited."_

Well, that was something at least. But her doubts were still present and quite visible. Rakah sighed and reached out for the chair in the room and straddled it to sit, folding his arms over the chair's back to rest his chin on. "I'm not lying if that's what worries you."

"You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest," she pointed out.

The comment made him chuckle and tilt his head. "True. Seeing as you're still concerned, I'd say you'll probably find them in Sindria still." Without warning he stretched out one of his hands, harmlessly putting his palm out for her, "I will take you if you want. You look like you could use some rest."

Chief grumbled at the back of her mind, warning her against trusting him so openly. But Noé had to admit that she was tired, flashing to Sindria would take a toll to her barely healing body, and she really wanted to assure Aladdin's and the others' safety with her own eyes. Warily but determined, she crawled away from the wall and took his hand. Rakah smiled and promised it'd be quick before touching the small sphere that dangled from his neck.

A sphere that was half full with her Light magic. His transportation measures were slower than hers since Rakah needed to distort the space around them though. His magic altered what light was already around him whereas hers simply turned everything that wasn't light into it.

But within a few minutes, Rakah distorted the space and light around them enough to transport them from the outskirts of her cottage in Reim to the bustling city of Sindria where the afternoon sun basked the magnificent island. Rakah walked alongside her as she let the scents guide her, one much more different than the rest. Neither bothered to hide themselves as they traversed the streets. The people were too busy with themselves and their daily lives to care about two faces that had suddenly appeared out of the blue.

It wasn't long before Noé found Aladdin amidst the crowd. He was sitting in a table with Alibaba, Morgiana, and other people as they watched some kind of amateurish performance retelling their dungeon diving of Zagan. They were alive, they were okay.

A heavy sigh of relief she didn't know she'd been holding escaped her and a lopsided smile crept to her lips—

"And you thought I was lying."

—before it left just as fast. That was enough to drop her mood. Turning away, Noé didn't face him as she spoke, "Take me back home."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

 

**|i.|**

When she resolved to take a bit of a breather in Reim after her most recent journey to the east, Noé had intended for her visit to be peaceful and banal in the hopes that such outlook would benefit her still-slightly shaken state of mind. It never occurred to her that perhaps Reim—or more to point, the temple where she had hoped to find a certain priestess would be as equally distraught as she was. By the sound of it, though, they might be in more strife than it seemed.

Noé stopped after climbing the stairs of the Temple of Regia and peered into said structure to watch from afar just what was causing such a ruckus. A multitude of people lingered inside the alabaster walls of the temple, their voices bouncing off every wall as they talked over each other clearly wanting to be heard by whatever poor bastard stood in the center of the problem.

_Maybe this isn't the best time to visit._

" _I do wonder what has them in such hysterics though."_

That made two of them. Her feet egged on by her curiosity took her closer to the crowd amassed there. Standing among them and paying attention to what the lot were angrily yelling about only piqued her interest further.

"When will you bring them back!"

"Our priestesses have been missing for four days already!"

"How did those damn pirates even get through in the first place?!"

"Give us an explanation!"

"Bring our daughters back!"

_The Regalus were kidnapped?_

Noé found this utterly bizarre. Scheherazade's priestesses, aside from taking care of the temple and being studious women that did charitable work, were the magi's pride and joy. They were women, more often than not magicians, that she took in to train. A Regalis, despite serving under the name of a venerated goddess of Reim, was a woman promised to their country. Each served it with virtue and strength under the order of their  _Sacerdos Maxima._ Aside from that, though, Noé also knew that Scheherazade schooled the elder priestesses, the Regalia, in magic personally and they in turn trained the new interns.

That fact alone was what made this kidnapping so strange. The Regalus were trained magicians, it didn't make sense that simple pirates would be able to kidnap  _all_ of them.

"I understand your grievances." The loud voice that boomed over the upheaval quieted the crowd and brought attention to an older man that stood rigidly before the angry mob. Despite his age, the fact that he was decked out in armor told her the geezer wasn't someone to mess with. "The emperor has given me full authority over the retrieval of our priestesses. He wishes to see them home just as much as you do. Although what I will ask of you is difficult, I do request that you leave this to us as we will do all within our power to rescue them."

But the crowd wasn't having it and immediately broke out in protest over their lack of action in the past few days. They were enraged, worried sick, and unable to contain either emotion. Noé knew that whatever the military geezer promised to them wasn't going to be enough for the worried parents in the masses.

Just as she thought he would speak again, a roar of wings beat around catching her eye as their blinking silhouettes called attention to themselves. The sheer quantity told Noé exactly who had just entered the room even before she heard her speak.

"Please, remain calm." All heads turned to her sweet tranquil voice including Noé, but instead of awe sweeping through her as it did in the others, only a sense of calm came to her that was ever so slightly tinged with resentment.

The little woman and the great magi of Reim stood in all her brilliant glory before the crowd. Despite her demureness, her presence alone pacified the people enough for her to speak normally as she lowered the stairs of the vestibule.

"I understand your ire and apprehension towards the situation. I have been uneasy myself ever since their abduction as well which is why I personally spoke to the emperor the day it occurred advising him to spare no expense in rescuing them. It appears his counsel took longer in agreeing than he did which is why aid has arrived at such time." The regal little beauty held onto her golden staff tightly, her knuckles turning a bit white as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood before the crowd as an equal. Lowering her staff, she held it horizontally before her lap before bowing deeply. "I implore of you to have a modicum of patience with us for a while longer."

The people were abashed and shuffled uncomfortably most likely for having acted in a way that made Scheherazade beg them for more time. Frankly, Noé was a little baffled herself. As reticent and reserved as she was, it surprised her that Scheherazade would have to stoop to their level to ask them to relax.

_Idiots are getting worked up for nothing. It's not like they're dead. They can still be rescued. They can still come back to them._

A softness and warmth came from around her neck where her arrowhead laid. It was Chief's way of calming her down, to give her some relief from the morbidness that encroached her mind anytime it deviated to that. Much like Chief's comfort composed her, it appeared that Scheherazade's words and actions made the people lose some of their edge. A sea of murmurs washed over them as they agreed to her terms and soon after the crowd began to dissipate. It wasn't until it had considerably thinned out and the magi was alone with the old geezer that Noé stepped up to her.

"Never thought I'd see you prostrate to beg to others like that."

The little blonde magi turned fully at hearing that and her bright blue eyes half-opened in surprise, her body barely noticeably tensing. "Noé."

Giving her a goofy grin, Noé raised her hand to wave at her. "Hey, Hera-chan."

The old man from before took a step forth placing himself between Noé and Scheherazade before addressing Noé with a glare. Now that she was up close and could see him better, Noé couldn't keep her eyes away from his nose.  _So...pointy._ "Who are you to speak to our High Priestess so immodestly."

Before Noé had a chance to answer, Scheherazade took the initiative setting a hand on the man to keep him at bay. "It's fine, Ignatius. She is...an old acquaintance of mine."

Ignatius glanced sideways at the blonde magi, clearly puzzled by her declaration. "Yours, my lady?"

Scheherazade nodded solemnly before changing the subject. "Prepare the battalions, Ignatius, and carry out your orders." Her eyes softened then, "Bring them back safely."

"Yes, my lady." Ignatius saluted her, fisted hand propped over his heart for a second before easing up. He gave a sidelong glance at Noé before giving his back to them and leaving the temple. Noé watched him leave, his red cape flowing behind him as he climbed down the white stairs.

"I never thought you would ever willingly return to Reim after what transpired." Hearing her voice so quiet and delicate yet cautious all the same, Noé turned back towards Scheherazade only to catch the tail end of her as she turned to walk up the stairs to go further into the temple. It wasn't until she stopped for the briefest moment and glanced over her shoulder before continuing on forward that Noé took the hint and followed a few steps after the little magi.

"Never said I wouldn't come back," Noé rectified, taking in every corner of the temple as they walked through. The last time she'd been there, the Regia had been torn to the ground. Seemed they raised it back to its former glory and then some in the years she was gone. "I just needed some time to cool off is all."

"You call a hundred and fifty years 'some time'?" Scheherazade asked incredulous.

Noé didn't skip a beat, her tone turning deadly and dropping an octave. "Can you blame me?" Scheherazade's stride slowed ever so slightly as her head hung. Her silence spoke volumes to Noé and got her cheerfulness to return while making her grin despite not being seen. "Glad we agree."

They walked on in a silence that must have surely been awkward for the magi. It wasn't until they reached her little alcove that some semblance of peace returned; being surrounded by personal effects seemed to calm her down, apparently. As Scheherazade took a seat beside a desk filled with scattered papers, Noé went over to the open window that let the fresh and sweetened air of the sanctum's inner gardens stream inside the small room and took a sit at the stone windowsill.

"Heard you're in a bind right now. Pirates nabbing your priestesses and whatnot." Noé's gaze wandered from the empty gardens to the high priestess who calmly studied her. "You really think involving the military will solve this?"

Scheherazade seemed aloof as always but the slack of her shoulders told Noé just as much as what her next words did. "I hope so. I don't wish for any harm to befall them. They are my priestesses and aside from that they are very special women, each and every one of them."

"I'd imagine," she commented, leaning her elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her hand as she continued to stare at Scheherazade. "But sending the military in after four days doesn't fit into that narrative you spieled on the crowd just now. Had they been as important as you say, the emperor wouldn't have needed his counsel's approval to send the military the moment he was made aware of the kidnapping. But if they were useless then he wouldn't have bothered to send Mr. Long Nose your way in the first place when you asked for assistance. That you waited four days to do so, however, tells me that your hand was forced to involve the military." Standing from her seat on the windowsill, Noé strode over to stand in front of Scheherazade before leaning over and placing either hand on the armrests of the cathedra she sat on. A lopsided grin came to her lips then as she tilted her head sideways, emerald eyes gleaming when she asked. "Care to share what forced your hand, Hera-chan?"

Her blonde head hung low, her half lidded gaze askance for a brief moment before she raised her head. "The kidnapping wasn't random, one of my Regalis was specifically targeted." Noé raised an incredulous brow at her shabby explanation. Scheherazade needed only to reach for one of the papers beneath the pile and pass it to her. "It is the truth."

Emerald eyes scanned the thin and rough piece of parchment which had written only a few sentences on it proclaiming who they were and what their demands were for returning the priestesses safely to Reim's shores, namely one Seraphina Karras. Whomever she was those pirates surely knew of her importance for the price they were putting on her head. The amount was absurd, but surely nothing that Reim's treasury couldn't afford. They're last statement must have been what pushed Scheherazade to act as she did. If the ransom wasn't paid by the day after tomorrow, they would deliver each and every priestess in pieces at Reim's shores instead.

Noé crumpled the paper up not caring for its importance before tossing it over her shoulder. "You believe they'll go through with their threat?"

"Whether I do or not is not something I can afford to debate now. They seem knowledgeable of the Karras family's status in Reim."

"Which is?"

"Seraphina is the only child of Reim's treasurer and closest advisor of the emperor among his counsel. He was one of the few that urged him to let the military be involved in the issue when I presented this to them the moment it arrived at our door yesterday."

With that explanation satisfying her interest, Noé released her hold on the armrests and instead rounded to the side of the cathedra to lean back against it.

" _What are you thinking?"_

_They certainly picked the golden goose. But if their target was her then why take the whole gaggle?_

The new mystery certainly piqued her interest. But helping Scheherazade wasn't something she was kin of anymore. Her mind made, she stood from her place and waved a languid hand over her shoulder as she headed towards the closed door.

"Welp, looks like you have your hands full. I probably should scram and let you deal with this headache of yours. Good luck, Hera-chan!" But just as her hand landed on the doorknob, her tiny voice rose over the silence.

"Noé."

A part of her didn't want to stay and listen to whatever she had to say. It told her that Scheherazade didn't deserve that from her. But the other part was one that basked in the slight urgency of her voice, in the pleading tone of how she spoke her name. And it was the one that she chose to listen to when it said,  **Make her beg for it.**

"Yes?"

"I realize that it is imprudent of me to ask you for anything but as the situation stands their lives, innocent lives, could be lost to senseless greed."

"I agree, good lives shouldn't be wasted like that." Noé glanced over her shoulder, keen eyes looking down at the blonde magi from where she sat on her cathedra, the feathers behind her right ear bristling in excitement. "You should really just end it yourself if you're asking for my opinion. You  _are_ a magi."

The hand that held her golden staff at her side stiffened, the jerk making the rings on the staff hit against the metal and chime. "You know I cannot do that."

_Right. Her clones don't last long if she uses magic too much. Fighting would just kill the current one she's on._   **What a fucking pity. It'd be one less thing to worry about.**

"Ah, yes. Well, in that case, better pray your military dogs can do you proud on this one." Her attention went straight back to the doorknob after that, her hand turning the knob slowly. Just slow enough to give Scheherazade time to consider well her next words.

The split second after the click of the door opening was all the time it took for her mind to be made up. "Noé, I'm imploring you to aid in the rescue. To protect them, to bring them back home. The grief their families are going through is something you more than anybody understand. I beg of you, don't let them suffer the same fate."

" _NOÉ, DON'T!"_

Alabaster cracked loudly but nothing rung in her eardrums more than hearing such a powerful borg shatter from the sharpest spear of light she could muster piercing through it. It penetrated from end to end, boring into the cathedra and tearing at strands of Scheherazade's long blonde hair. But that it struck just beside her head told Noé she'd missed. The light chains that formed unbeknownst to her from every angle held her whole body in place just as she had pivoted towards Scheherazade to attack her. Said magi had not been fazed though and instead furrowed her brow in both anger and concern. She knew the attack would come as soon as that last sentence left her lips and both she and Chief were all too aware that Noé wouldn't hesitate to strike her, magi or not.

It was why Scheherazade had summoned her borg preemptively. It was why she splurged the room in rukh that Noé noticed only now, giving Andromalius enough magoi to act of her own accord. The chains of light that Andromalius created weren't just magic, they held the faint sensation of warmth, as if strong clawed hands were holding her in place and away from the magi.

"Traitor…" she hissed through gritted teeth.

" _I know you're upset."_

Noé strained against the chains that only became more taut at her threat of escape. "I am more than  _just_ upset."

" _But you cannot kill a magi."_

"...watch me."

" _Noé, listen to me. She is not at fault here. She wasn't the one who killed him."_

_**She might as well have.** _

" _And he wouldn't want you hurting her, either. Neither would Teosa. She taught you better than this."_

The mention of her master made her rethink her actions. Andromalius was right; her master had taught her better. No matter how much she wanted to hurt Scheherazade for what she'd said, hurting others without a good reason wasn't what she did. Noé refrained from letting her anger take over by taking deep breaths and stepping back to allow the chains wrapped around her to loosen.

" _Noé?"_

_I'll be alright. And...I won't attack her again. I promise._

The brightness of the chains dimmed before blinking out of existence. Free once more, Noé lifted her gaze from the ground to Scheherazade who remained seated with the light spear still stuck on her hair and the cathedra. A wave of her hand was all it took for it to disappear and her emerald eyes watched as long strands of blonde hair fell from her side. Scheherazade remainsx in her seat even after being released, not approaching Noé even as she turned the doorknob of the door intent to leave in silence.

"Lady Scheherazade!"

The door burst open with a force that Noé was not prepared to handle as it struck the door wide open making it hit against the wall and pushing her back in the process. So shocked by whomever opened the door was Noé that her mind had no time to react and she toppled to the floor.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know—"

Lifting a surprised and somewhat shocked gaze, emerald eyes met large wine-colored ones with distinct markings that stared at her in concern and remorse. A bit bashful and out of breath, the young man that had knocked her off of her feet stretched out his hand towards her. "I apologize, miss. It wasn't my intention. I had no idea you were on the other side of the door."

Noé blinked a couple of times still trying to surmise how the hell she'd been knocked off by such a little thing and mindlessly took his hand. One that to even more of a surprise to her managed to easily bring her back on her feet. Now that she could properly see him, her eyes wandered down to the boy that barely reached to her shoulders. Flush red hair swept gently around him as he stood before her, long and probably to the middle of his back, and contrasted well against the regal blue sash that he wore over his white tunic.

The small piercing on his lower lip was somewhat odd but what caught her attention the most were those eyes and the unmistakable markings around them. Noé had never met a Fanalis before, at least not the Red Lions she had heard so many stories about when she was a small child, but she knew what became of the mighty and ferocious tribe in this world.

Enslavement. Of both their bodies...and their souls.

Ignoring the baffled young boy, Noé raised her voice for Scheherazade to hear her. "Reim enslaves red cubs now too?"

The boy's brow furrowed, unable to understand what she meant, but the magi's answer came out sharp and strong, "Muu is not a slave. He the oldest child and only son of the Alexius family."

_He's Pernadius' descendant._

Little cub looked nothing like Pernadius. What a pity. Skirting him and mumbling a small 'thanks' under her breath for having helped her up, Noé made her way towards the wide open door and waved over her shoulder as she crossed the threshold.

"Good luck, Scheherazade, hope you don't let them down."

**—{i}—**

" _You're second guessing yourself, aren't you?"_

"Shut up, Chief."

But as Noé watched the military vessel from where she was perched atop one of the high buildings overlooking the wharf, she couldn't help the sick feeling that turned her stomach and left a nasty taste in her mouth. She'd watched them for the past hour as they loaded the hundred men they would take to raid the pirate stronghold. Surely they would be able to get there and rescue the girls. They had the strength, the numbers, and the element of surprise as they left that night shrouded in darkness.

And despite knowing this, there was still uneasiness lingering in her mind about the whole situation. The fact that Scheherazade had been determined and forlorn— _and even ballsy_ — enough to ask  _her_  for help told Noé that the issue also bothered Reim's magi in the same way, shape, or form.  _Something just isn't right about this._

A long heavy sigh escaped through her nose as Noé stood up from her spot and carefully jumped down to the quiet wharf. Merchants that preferred to work at night were silently unloading their goods and she scoured the dock until finding one that was seemingly done for the night.

The large man stood a head taller than her but when she talked to him so politely it seemed that his physique was just some cleverly used facade to scare the riffraff that could possibly rob him. He was pretty generous at giving Noé the information she needed about the pirates' fortress but began to back out of the conversation when she asked if he could take her near it.

"No on' goes near there, lil' lady," he told her while waving a dismissive hand in front of his face. "Too 'any ships have already been ransacked and sunken thanks to those damn pirates. The only reason a'body would go near it would be to be killed."

"Mm." Her mindless reply came a bit after he finished explaining the circumstances, but Noé overlooked his dismissal and took her pouch of gold coins before taking his hand in one of hers and dropping the pouch in it. "This reason enough for you?"

It wasn't until he looked through the pouch that his puzzlement turned into glee as he pocketed the gold and nodded. There wasn't much wait between that and their departure. As he quietly rowed through the sea headed south, Noé focused on what was ahead of her which was nothing but darkness.

New moon meant that not even the moon gave them light through the voyage. That fact didn't bother Noé though. Her intentions were only to fight if necessary with her primary objective being to get the girls out of that fortress alive. The merchant's ship wasn't big but it was fast enough to get them nearby the fortress that stood as a lone island a good hour from Reim's shores. Searchlights were posted on high ends of the outers walls and surrounding the fortress were all manners of sunken ships that Noé guessed had been shot down by the pirates over their time occupying the place. The merchant berthed his ship near one of the bigger ones to hide them from the searchlights. Standing at the top of the mast to look around, Noé spotted the military ship that had left but a few minutes before them ways away. Even though they too hid behind a sunken ship, theirs was a much bigger vessel which thankfully the night covered fully.

And lucky for her, a single person could traverse undetected better than a whole army.

Noé jumped down from the mast on to the deck before turning to the merchant as the two of them stood overlooking the fortress. "Thanks for the ride," she briefly said and climbed overboard to swiftly lower herself into the water. It'd be a pity that she had to swim there and ruin her clothes but that concern would have to come later. Noé knew who she'd bug later about getting new clothes.

Waving at the merchant to leave, the man took her word and started his way back to Reim. She took advantage of the slight noise he made as he left to make her way closer to the fortress' edge, stopping just short of reaching the edge of the searchlight's reach.

_Chief, those searchlights, are they magic tools or torches?_

" _Magic tools,"_ she responded swiftly.

Her mouth hidden beneath the water, Noé blew air out of frustration creating bubbles that popped at the surface. Despite her control of light being rather powerful, it had its limits. Natural sources of light tended to be easy to control to her whims—torches, candles, sunlight, etc.—but artificial creations from things such as magic tools were different. Those items transformed magoi into light magic and by doing so changed its composition. It took more out of her if she wanted to use light that she had to change first to suit her needs.

" _You'll have to bear with it,"_ Chief said while Noé stared down the searchlights as if that would turn them off magically.  _"You won't be able to enter otherwise."_

"I hate it when you're right," she mumbled into the water before turning serious and focusing on the one searchlight that hindered her most.

_Bend. A little. Just enough to—short—circuit._

The burning to the right side of her face came just a split moment before the searchlight began to blink sporadically and turn off completely a second later. Taking the chance, Noé swam as fast as she could to the walls of the fortress, getting there just as the light blinked back on without troubles.

Finding an entrance to it was easier than she thought since the island had plenty of natural openings that they only bothered to block with simple wooden gates. Swimming below one of the smaller gates, Noé broke through the surface of the water as quietly as she could before paddling onto the lower parts hidden from the searchlight they had inside. The small dock they had was well hidden from prying eyes to her luck and it let her rest a bit from the swim. It wasn't her wet clothes but instead the soaked wing that weighed most. How she hated swimming.

At least she got inside unnoticed.  _Infiltration complete._

" _Great. But please tell me you have a plan this time."_

_To my surprise, yes, I do._  This whole business involved other people besides herself after all and she wasn't about to put them in danger because she was too lazy to come up with a plan. Thankfully, that hadn't been too hard to begin with because of how distinct the air there was.

" _Air?"_

"They smell different." One of the things Noé prided herself in, aside from her fighting prowess and undeniable charm, was her sense of smell. Although not as acute as say a Fanalis, it was keen enough to differentiate many things. And thanks to it she could differentiate the permeating smell of the pirates that spent the majority of their time at sea from the rich and thick scent of flowers and incense that Remanians and most importantly the Regalus had to them.

But as she lifted her nose to get a nuance of where to head first, a different scent got caught in the mix as it entered her nostrils. It was pungent but it wasn't salty. It wasn't delicate; it was earthy. It was the scent of hard spice and dirt...and blood.

_Clank._  The instant she heard the brief scratching of metal against gravel, Noé reacted, pivoting on her heels and snatching whoever was following her and raising them high against the wall behind her.

But as soon as she gazed into petrified scarlet irises marked so distinctly, she clicked her tongue and released the boy's throat to pin him by his shoulder instead.

"What the  _hell_  are you doing here, kid?" she snarled under her breath, trying to keep her annoyance and impatience at bay before they made her strangle the kid for being stupid enough to follow her.

His hands instinctively came up to the one grasping at the strap of his gold cuirass. The grip was strong but him being a cub still halved how much strength he had now. "I-I followed you, Miss Noé."

Her brow ticked, a lopsided grin coming to her lips. "Hera tell you my name?"

The cub nodded and his crimson gaze steeled as he zeroed in on her. "And she also told me that you wouldn't just walk away from this, no matter how mad you were at her."

_She's got a real big mouth on her if she babbled all that so confidently to the cub._

"She tell you to follow me too?" This question got him to stiffen in place before lowering his head to stare at the floor that was still a few inches from his feet.  _Ah._  "She didn't." Her eyes wandered to the gold breastplate that protected him. It gleamed in the faintness of the searchlight's glare and showed no sign of serious decay. Perhaps a few scratches but nothing serious. And the sword that hung precariously from the belt of his metal skirt—it was used and the dark lines that dirtied the etchings, she realized, was what she had smelled before. Dried blood.

_What the hell am I supposed to do with a cub that barely looks like he's fought a day in his life?_

" _For now? Keep him safe. You can't have the death of a high class family's son on your hands."_

Noé had to agree with her there. Bringing him off from the wall and closer so they'd be face-to-face, she didn't beat around the bush for long. "Your name's Muu, right?"

"Yes."

She gave a slight nod to the sword hanging on his side. "You've fought before?"

"A couple of times at the colosseum."

"Beasts, I'm guessing." His nod was the confirmation she needed and it got her to sigh. "If you're going to drag me down then you're going to listen to everything I say, understood?" Her question ended with her releasing him from her grip so that he could catch himself as he fell back to the floor.

"I won't drag you down, Miss Noé," he said not stuttering this time. "I may not look it but I have been trained in fighting and although I've never actually fought another person in a real fight, I can more than handle myself."

"And you're what, fifteen, sixteen?" she mindlessly asked while lifting her nose to the air to sniff the air and mentally make the route they'd take to follow it.

"Why does that matter?"

His dismissal of her question got her to click her tongue and look down on him. "You may be a Fanalis, but you're still a kid. Even a Fanalis cub can be rendered useless if you're hit with the right kind of tranquilizer dose. These pirates took priestesses from Reim and they dealt with the guards there to do it. I can almost guarantee that they'll be prepared for anything they send to rescue them as well. Your kind included." She lifted her hand flat up to the height of her chest. "You reach me to here which means you're around 5'6 tops, and that's me being generous. From lifting you just now I can guess you're maybe 130 pounds. Two hits of the right medicine and you'd become a burden to me. One I'd leave behind if I have to."

Despite the sternness in her voice, Noé still heard Chief's chuckle that ran through the back of her head when she said that.  _"Don't frighten the boy."_

It was his dumbass fault for coming to such a place without considering what he was getting into. And if it got him scared enough to remain here while she went off to rescue the girls, then all the better.

"That's fine."

His answer caught Noé by surprise and the pure conviction she saw burning in those crimson eyes told her that he wasn't just talking to prove her wrong. His hand held tightly the hilt of his sword as he continued on. "As long as Lady Scheherazade's Regalus are brought home safe and sound then do with me what you will. Use me or leave me, whichever is fine with me. I'll get home fine just like I got here by following you. But you have to promise to bring them home safely."

" _How valiant."_

She disagreed. His actions were idiotic at best, suicidal at worst. But if she had to agree with something was that the girls needed to be taken home unharmed.

Miffed that she had to make a choice, the feathers on the back of her ear bristled before she bore her glare on him. "Fine, you win. You can come. But I make you no promises if you happen to fuck this whole thing over, you hear me?"

"I won't. You have my word."

She didn't allow him time to second guess himself. "Then let's go."

The fortress, for how well kept and surveilled it'd been on the outside, was rather empty on the inside. Noé thank the gods for that small blessing since it made sneaking around much easier. The fact that there were fewer numbers meant that she didn't need to masquerade her and the cub by refracting the light around them that often. And although the place was big, the scent was a straight way lower into the fortress where she guessed the cells were.

Just as they were rounding the corner, the sound of muffled chatter caught her ears just behind one of the doors leading down.

"Sera."

The name that escaped the cub brought her attention to him. "What?"

"That's Seraphina's voice on the other side. Hers and the other Regalus'."

_Guess he is useful for something._ "Are theirs the only voices you hear?"

"Yes."

_Good._ "Come on." After trying the door and finding it locked, Noé pressed her palm against the lock before solidifying the light inside it and busting it open. The noise it made was a bit loud for the quiet surroundings and it put her on edge as she opened the door to push the cub inside before following behind him to close the door as well as she could behind her.

"Muu!" Noé turned to find the cub ways ahead of her at the large iron cell that stood in the room sealed by bars and one single door. Nine women ranging in ages were inside of it, scared and more than beaten by sleepless nights but otherwise unharmed. The one that had called out to the cub seemed to be a girl perhaps a few years younger than him. To Noé it was almost like staring at a living doll; although not the same ethereal beauty she saw in Scheherazade, the girl was pretty in her own right.

Platinum-colored hair fell straight down her back, the fringes swept across adorning large half-hooded green eyes. But unlike Noé's emerald, hers were a soft seafoam green. The cub ran up muttering to whom Noé assumed was Seraphina while asking how they were and if everyone was alright.

"We're all fine." Seraphina glanced over her shoulder where the others girls nodded in agreement. "I knew you would come save us."

Muu smiled and told them to step back from the door before hitting the lock with a clean punch. Noé watched from a few paces back as he busted the lock and threw the door wide open. As they came forward after it was opened, Noé took the lead then stepping forward and counting each head before ushering them out.

"I'll be asking you ladies to please remain close to one another and follow close behind me." A couple nodded while the rest muttered their agreements as they huddled out of the jail cell.

"How are we going to get them back to Reim?" Muu asked her as the last of them came out. Noé pursed her lips pensively which made him a bit nervous. "Please tell me you have a plan."

"Why is everybody so hung up about me and plans?" she hissed, greatly annoyed at the lack of confidence. But she had to admit that albeit having one to get in, she hadn't thought much about getting out.

Chief let out an long and aggravated sigh that propagated through the back of her mind.  _"Thank gods the military is outside."_

Noé instantly snapped her fingers at hearing that making Muu jump a bit back from surprise. "That's right!"

"What is?"

"The military is outside the fortress. All we have to do is get their attention and get to them."

"How do you suppose we do—" But before he could finish his question, the girls cried out in surprise as from outside a great explosion rumbled through before the splash of water followed behind it. More and more explosions followed suit some of which actually made the fortress shake with the magnitude of the hit.

" _Looks like they finally made their move."_

Despite the situation, a grin split across Noé's face from the excitement. It'd been much too long since she last had a good adventure like this. And now that she had the girls and could protect them, getting them out would be easier.

_Let's make ours then._

But just as she was about to instruct the horde of priestess to follow her, the door that led inside burst open from the other side. Afraid, said girls rushed behind Noé and Muu and while the latter stood strong with his sword in hand. Noé merely watched carefully as a few men ran in from the hallway eyes narrowed at spotting her and Muu with the girls out of the cage.

"They're in here too!" one called out with their sword held aloft.

"Don't let them get aw-augh!"

Noé didn't let them finish talking to one another and rushed straight ahead, jumping to roundhouse kick one of them right on the side of the head to knock him out cold. The other was somewhat quick enough to react and lifted his sword to block her from approaching him. The action stopped her for a second at seeing the crackling of electricity that surged through the blade but when he swung out of desperation, it gave her the perfect opening. Taking it, Noé kicked off from the floor and caught his neck between her legs before turning her body to take him down and slam him against the ground, the force of it enough to knock him out as well.

Flipping herself back on her feet, she hit her hands against one another after having done that so cleanly.  _Look, Ma, I took out the trash in less than a minute._

" _Could've been less than a fraction of a second had you flashed."_

The grin she'd been sporting turned into a grimace as she stopped her hand-cleaning abruptly. "You just...are never satisfied, are you?"

" _There's always room for improvement."_  More explosions shook the fortress, visible cracks beginning to appear near the walls from the forceful impacts.  _"And now isn't the time to joke around."_

_Right._  Noé turned to the priestesses then and clapped loudly to get their attention. "Alright ladies, our goal is to get from point 'here' to point 'over there'." Some groaned at her directions which irritated her but she swallowed that for any idiots that would cross their paths and continued on. "Ports, ladies, we're heading to the ports to get to Reim's military." Their mood did a 180 swing as sighs of relief echoed. Those were quickly and literally drowned when another explosion from outside hit and cracked the walls of the cell room enough for water to pour in.

Panicked yelps and cries burst out almost immediately. Noé knew that trying to calm them down would be useless so instead she used their adrenaline to herd them out of the room as the water quickly flooded it.

Thankfully, the cub's friend remembered her training and as they ran through the fortress picked up whatever she found laying around to use as a wand for magic. Water from any nearby barrels struck out like spikes before freezing over capturing anything that it touched. Those girls who felt confident enough to join in followed her example, picking up anything resembling a wand to shoot of magic spells at any pirates that came after them.

To say that those girls were a great help would be an understatement.

_This might be easier than I thought._

Soon enough they reached the docks where the pirates' ships were anchored and where Noé spotted the grand door leading out into the open sea half beaten. But even after the hits it took from Reim's military, they held steadfast. That was easily dealt with as she instructed the girls to shoot everything they had at the door. Their magic combined was enough to destroy the remains of the door and sink it into the waters. Now with that open, it was a matter of getting them on a ship and reaching the military.

_It'll work._

But just as she explained this to them, another explosion, one much different than the others, struck from inside the fortress shaking the island itself. All eyes turned to it as from the makeshift windows, bird-like creatures flew out and soared above the island, circling it like vultures. But those weren't anything like the desert or volcanic vultures she'd seen in her travels. These blended well in the night sky and the only thing that made them visible were the cyan markings that contrasted against the dark background.

Noé couldn't believe her eyes. It would be now, after encountering the first dark djinn in this world a hundred and fifty years ago, that they resurfaced. And they weren't just any small fry dark djinn either; those markings on them were the same ones that she'd seen on Perseus when he turned into one.

The vultures briefly stopped in mid air before diving head first without warning. And they were diving down fast. With no time to properly let the others react, Noé acted on a snap decision. Leaping away from the group that stood cornered at the port, she raised a deft hand to raise a sphere of light magic around them with Chief. There wasn't time to bet on how strong their borgs were, and she knew for a fact that Chief's magic would withstand the djinn's attacks for longer.

But Chief saw a big flaw in wanting to both protect them and fight the dark djinn.  _"It'll run your magoi dry doing both, Noé."_

Resigning herself to the matter at hand, Noé evened her breath as she summoned her bow and took aim at the dark djinn diving towards her.  _Then I'll just have to do without._  There wasn't any time to argue with Chief despite her objections about her fighting with such reckless abandon being utterly correct. But Noé couldn't think of another option despite how poorly this would end up for her on the long run. It was clear to her as she shot arrows at the djinn that her powers only did so much damage without her equip. But if she equipped, it would require her to focus all her magoi onto herself which would leave the priestesses unprotected. And she couldn't afford to do that.

The best course of action she could think was to hold them back and make time until the military came to take the girls away. Once safe, she would be able to focus on them.

So far, her haphazardly made-up plan was working. The vultures despite being dark djinn were not as strong as those she'd fought before or even the monster that Perseus had been. This made fighting them a bit more manageable. With how things were, a part of her sincerely thought that she could make sufficient time for the military to come. But when one of the girls exclaimed after spotting the military ship coming towards them, something changed in the vultures. They restrained their relentless assault from before and instead hovered a few feet away.

_What are they—_  Before she could even question it, her emerald eyes widened at seeing the vultures coming together and morphing into each other. Their bodies began losing form, becoming a strange substance which liquified to join together. The amalgamate took its solid body back once all of the smaller ones gathered and became a larger vulture, one donning a stone mask over its face and top portion of its beak with two beady eyes of a bright blue shining through.

Now that one struck her with familiarity. It looked just like Perseus had. And if that thing came remotely close to being half as strong as Perseus had been then things could and would turn ugly very fast. Her eyes fell askance over her shoulder to watch the girls that huddled together struck by fear at the sight of their larger enemy. Even the brave little magician that acted so confidently before stood back with makeshift wand held tightly in her hands. Noé clearly saw the fear etched in her features and it struck a chord in her.

They were children, just a bunch of little girls that didn't know how to defend themselves and much less how to survive these types of situations. Such a contrast to what she had grown up knowing. And there, between the peerless hunter and its prey, she stood unable to stray from her place. Noé knew what struggle awaited her if she fought against the amalgamate dark djinn but she also knew well enough what fate those girls would come to have if she didn't.

And frankly, she was tired of seeing children die needlessly.

Turning to fully face the vulture that hung over their heads, Noé took a deep breath to calm her growing emotions. Chief, feeling the turmoil inside her mind, questioned her actions as she fortified the shield around the priestesses while retaining her light bow in hand.  _"Are you sure about this?"_

"Yeah."  _Time. That's all we need._

The amalgamate beat it wings in a huge arc and threw its head back to let out a grueling screech. The noise ran rampant through the air and it made Noé cover her ears at the high-pitched shriek. A warm feeling rushed past her ears just as her vision started doubling and her balance faltering. Sound magic.  _Piece of shit bird—_

Unable to distinguish anything without her eyes or ears, Noé braced herself as best she could. But the vulture never got to them. Instead, even through the garbled mess of vibrations in her eardrums, she distinctly heard the screeching of metal against metal and the vulture cawing. Noé forced her eyes to focus at the blur of colors that distorted before her and through the disarray, her emerald eyes saw a vivid red that caught like wildfire in the forceful gust.

Her vision focused even more and mostly returned the instant the red came into her vision. Although blotchy, Noé could make out Muu's tiny figure at a standstill against the vulture, the dark djinn grappling in its giant metallic claws what Noé could barely discern as a silver trident.

"I-I'm not—letting this thing—get us. N-Not when w-we're so close—" Noé heard the gravel beneath her surroundings cave from the pressure the vulture was putting on him. From where she was, she could only see the young cub's back but as he stood on par with the amalgamate, his arms held above his head to withstand the attack with his trident, she caught the glimpse of the eight-pointed star. Not only that but hands and arms had changed and instead of the fair white had turned to a darker hue.

" _The boy, he's—"_

Noé couldn't help the lopsided and triumphant grin that tugged at her lips at having the exact same thought as Chief.  _He's a dungeon capturer._ The amalgamate, as if sensing what Noé already realized, tried to fly away and forced its wings as it yanked its claws to unlodged them from between the blades of the trident. Noé could hear Muu's haggard breathe and saw how his whole body was beginning to shake. Despite that though, the cub let out a holler and twisted his trident with a fortitude she knew only Fanalis capable of and slammed the amalgamate onto the broken ground beneath them. Lifting it off from it, he impaled the bird and it let out a deafening howl that made all of them flinch.

But Noé knew a chance when she saw one and no amount of pain would make her miss it. With what little balance she had back, Noé took the chance Muu provided and disbanded her bow. Chief panicked at sensing her do that but Noé kept her cool all the same as she harnessed the powers of her seal instead. Eyes set above the dark djinn, Noé flashed and found herself in the middle of the sky high above the fortress. Even through the darkness, her sharp eyes caught the glimpse of fiery red down beneath her.

A clear target.

"Hold it, cub!" she hollered as loud as she could before steadying her arms to notch a light arrow back on an invisible bow. The side of her face burned as she gathered what light she could—natural, artificial, or otherwise—and saw the flicker of the light as it disappeared from all around them to gather in her hands.

_It's not Extreme Magic but it'll still pack a hell of a punch._

Gaze focused on red, a smug smirk grew wider on her lips. "And enough to wipe you out." Her fingers released the invisible string and the light arrow flew downward. The aim stayed true and hit just a few meters off of missing Muu to pierce the vulture's chest. Upon impact, the arrow exploded into a blinding barrage of light that brightened the whole island in white. Noé had her eyes peeled as she lost altitude in case the dark djinn remained but her worries vanished as she saw the faint silhouettes of black fluttering in a frenzy away from the particles of light that still remained from her shot.

Dark rukh. Her eyes followed the silhouettes as far as her powers allowed her but her vision blurred and the air in her lungs escaped her as she dove right through the surface of the water in the pier. Body heavy and wet wing making weighing her down all the more, Noé pushed herself to swim upward but as her gaze lifted to the surface, red overwhelmed her sight as another fell into the water.

Noé didn't waste a second to swim up and gather Muu into her arms. The moment she saw him, though, panic overcame her. Bubbles were rising from his open mouth and his eyes weren't opening. Adrenaline took the reins as she raced to the top. Air filled her lungs at the deep breath she took once they broke the surface but she didn't waste time with feeling relieved. Not yet. Pulling him alongside her, Noé reached the docks and shouted at the priestesses that were standing around to help her get him up. Seraphina and a couple of others hauled him onto dry land and although others attempted to help her as well, Noé shoved them aside as she ripped herself out of the waters to run to the cub. Almost immediately she knew he wasn't breathing. Clicking her tongue, Noé knelt at his side to pump her hands on his chest. It took a few tries but thankfully, he finally coughed up the water he'd taken in and his crimson gaze blinked staring at nothing until they met her emerald eyes.

"The...the monster…"

"It's gone, kid," Noé reassured him, her bated breath released at seeing him breathing again. "You did good."

"And the—the girls?"

Seraphina knelt at his other side and took his hand into hers. "We're here, Muu. We're safe." As she finished her sentence, a horn blew in the air, one that Noé realized came from the military ship as they began to dock. It was a warning to anyone who dared cross them and a promise of safety to those in danger.

A smile tugged at the corner of Noé's lips as she watched them dock over her shoulder. Looking back at the cub, she brushed the matted hair away from his face to look at him properly. "You hear that, cub? Military's here. You're all going home soon."

A sweet smile came over him as he mumbled, "...good.." before passing out completely. Seraphina and a couple of the others immediately worried about his well being but Noé assured them that he was just exhausted.

" _The boy probably exhausted his magoi reserves from just using his djinn weapon equip."_

That'd been Noé guess. Despite their superhuman strength, Fanalis had an absurdly low reservoir of magoi even compared to her own. And that was saying something.

The clacking as hundreds of men stepping onto the wooden planks shook the docks beneath their feet. Leading the troops was Mr. Long Nose whose eyes widen at spotting Noé surrounded by the priestesses.

"You're…"

Noé spared him a smirk before nodding off to the girls. "Count them, captain. I think you'll find them all here and unharmed for the most part." He barked orders at his men to take the priestesses safely into the ship before coming over to where Noé and Seraphina stayed with the unconscious Muu.

"Muu? What is he—how did he even get here?"

"Beats me," Noé replied still smiling and grabbed Muu's arm before hauling him up into her arms in spite of Seraphina's disagreement to do so. Walking up to Ignatius, she passed on the unconscious cub onto him. "Get him a place to rest. He needs it."

He didn't question her, though his expression said he had a good amount of questions to ask, and instead turned to face the only priestess left. "Lady Seraphina, if you would accompany us back to the ship, please."

Seraphina spared a glance Noé's way which made her wave back at the girl dismissively. "Be a good missy now and listen to the good ole captain. I'll follow behind you so don't worry."  _I've got myself some reward to ask for, after all._  The girl gave her a suspicious glance before turning away to trot over to Ignatius' side. The three left then to board the ship as the rest of the battalion continued their reconnaissance.

Noé rolled her shoulders and let out a deep sigh at finally having a moment to breathe. Turning on her heels, she eyed the area searching for something.

" _What are you looking for?"_

Noé didn't answer until a gleam in the faint torchlight caught her attention. Walking over to the sword that laid haphazardly near the docks, she picked it up and held the blade in her other hand to inspect the weapon. A small smile came to her lips at seeing the eight-pointed star that she'd seen on the trident from before.

_Just this._  Swinging the sword around in her hand, she fastened it into the space between her obi and clothes before heading back to the ship that would take her back to the one person who could tell her more about the djinn she had in her possession now.

_I wonder who it is this time._


	7. A Bittersweet Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Missed one. This is the actual ch. 7.

**|i.|**

Noé stayed out of the way of the hustling healers that ran around the grand room she, the military, and the rescued priestesses were now in. A few hours after the raid of the pirates fortress had gone by and within that time, they had returned the kidnapped Regalis to their temple. Extraneous examinations on their wellbeing were done the instant they stepped into the alabaster temple and although offered, Noé declined the aid given to her. Chief opposed to her decision quite loudly.

 _I'm not hurt._ Exhausted, yes, but nothing a full belly and a good night's sleep wouldn't fix.

" _You may not be injured but you depleted your reservoirs to a dangerously low level again. You simply must stop toeing that razor's edge so often."_

Noé didn't understand her ire. Her life had always been one precariously balanced on the edge and that was just how she liked it. Boredom killed. Besides, this time it wasn't for nothing in return. That reminder moved her hand down to her obi were her fingers ghosted along the hilt of the metal vessel nestled there.

The Fanalis cub had been taken away to heal from his magoi exhaustion and no one seemed to bother to ascertain that he came with all his possessions. A very foolish move, in her opinion, but one she didn't blame too much. They just went through a rather grim experience and they were more concerned with their well being than making sure any and all powerful magical weapons were accounted for.

" _You say that as if you intend to steal it."_

 _You know I wouldn't even if I could._  Noé chuckled at the sheer thought of that. They both knew that once conquered, metal vessels and djinn only listened to their chosen kings. No, her reason for holding onto this one and for waiting in Regalia's Temple for the time being was to speak to the little magi.

Emerald eyes raised at hearing Scheherazade's quiet voice among the racket that only seemed to get louder the more that time passed. Her long blonde tresses barely missed brushing against the polished floor as she made rounds to personally see to the safety of every one of her Regalis. From her vantage point, Noé watched some cry from pent up anxiety while others assured their families that they were alright. All agreed that it had been a rather frightful experience. Noé imagined that being taken forcefully from their home would cause that.

"And Seraphina?" Her keen ears took up the conversation between Scheherazade and whom she now knew as General Ignatius Alexius, another one of Pernadius' descendants, as they walked down the length of the open hall in her general direction.  _Must be happy wherever he is that his family grew this big._  The man did love his big families.

"Well by all accounts." Ignatius shook his head as a frown came to his features. "Insisted that she healed whatever ailed her and to be released at once. She left to be with Muu. He's being attended to as we speak."

"Might want to put a leash on that one." Both stopped and lifted their gazes to meet Noé. Languidly, she stood from leaning against a pillar and stretched before scowling at Scheherazade. "He put himself in danger to impress some girl."

"Muu is rash for his young age, yes," Scheherazade agreed but her brow knitted a bit as she continued, "but his actions were to aid in this time of necessity."

"Well, if that's what you want from him then I suggest you train him to better use this." Her hand still on the hilt of the metal vessel, she patted the blade. "His moves were lousy and he's barely able to hold a weapon equip. The cub might be a Fanalis but he's a cub all the same."

"I do agree with you in that concern. We shall see to his proper instruction." Giving Ignatius a sidelong glance, she excused him to relay the information of the priestesses safe return to their families. The general took his leave with a bow and a hard-pointed stare at Noé. Not deterred nor bothered, Noé gave him a goofy grin and waved him goodbye.

Once it was the two of them alone, Scheherazade walked up to Noé, close enough for their conversation to be too quiet for others to hear. "You have my utmost gratitude for what you did, Noé. If there is anything that you require, I shall assist with what I am able."

"Don't worry, I didn't do it to help you so the thanks are unnecessary." Noé's assurance and grin didn't bother Scheherazade. The honeyed words that came afterwards did. "But if you insist, I can think of one little thing to thank me wi—" Noé leaned forward in the middle of her sentence with puckered lips intent on getting her tiny reward. But when her lips and face plastered against the hardened surface of a borg, Noé chuckled and rubbed at her reddened nose and forehead as she took a few steps back. The fact that Scheherazade's usual aloof expression now turned into the tiniest bit of a frown with the light shine of a rosy blush on her cheeks only made her chortle louder. "Why so cautious? You still mad about last time?"

"Fool me once" was all the magi offered.

Noé almost thought the gesture cute but refrained from teasing her any further to focus instead on what she actually wanted. "But in all seriousness, I do need you for something." Holding the hilt in her hand and straightening the blade along the side of her body, the blade glinted in the firelight. "Mind if we talk somewhere more private?"

Scheherazade hesitated but ultimately didn't question her request and led her away from the crowd further into the temple. Noé took note of the marble floors and alabaster walls that were all similar from the entrance. All that gave a semblance of change were the decorations that changed from hallway to hallway. The magi led her to a large room where many magical artifacts laid on tables or that stood on pikes as targets. A training room, she surmised.

"I thought Reim wasn't into furthering their magical technology."

"We aren't," Scheherazade confirmed, "these are used by the priestesses' to hone their abilities. Despite their namesake, I wish for them to be able to defend themselves if the need arises."

"Well, some of that got through their skulls but you might want to up the training here after what happened." Aside from Seraphina, most of the priestesses weren't that keen about fighting actual people.

With a nod, Scheherazade turned on her heels to face Noé, sky blue eyes half-hooded to gaze at her. "I must ask now that we're alone what your intentions are with Muu's metal vessel."

Noé could almost laugh at the seriousness of Scheherazade's expression. With a swift hand, she pulled the sword out from under her obi and pierced it through the granite floor to let it stand. Her hands rested atop the hilt of the sword as she gave a lopsided grin.

"Summon the djinn that's inside the cub's metal vessel."

"What for?"

"I have questions that need answers."  _And hopefully whoever's in here will detract from the latter rather than add to the former._ "You're a magi. Summon them."

Scheherazade's gaze went askance in thought before returning to her. "Is that all you request?"

"Yep!"

The magi heaved a long sigh before taking the few steps to stand before the sword plunged into the ground. "Very well." Noé smiled and lifted her hands from the sword. Scheherazade laid hers on top of it and a change occurred in their surroundings. It was quick and heavy and from the shimmering of their silhouettes, she knew exactly what kind of change it was. Once the room was oversaturated with rukh, the eight-pointed star shone brightly and a blinding light gave way to the djinn as it appeared before them. The training room with no roof had been the perfect choice seeing as the djinn grew to be just out of the room's height; it made Noé wonder if Scheherazade had known beforehand what she'd be asking.

That frankly didn't matter as her attention was drawn to the djinn as it took shape. The grand djinn glanced at the magi that called him first, "Magi, to what do I owe the honor of being summoned?"

Noé chuckled before waving a hand and calling out, "That tab would be on me." The grand djinn looked over to her and blinked a couple times utterly perplexed.

"Wait a second, is that…?" It wasn't until he caught sight of Noé that his whole demeanor of indimitating djinn was thrown out of the perpetual window and he goofily grinned back at her. His large hands swept down at the ground to scoop her up and bring her up against his cheek. "It is you, Noé! Oh, our sweet little sparrow!"

The bubbles of laughter that arose from her throat burst out without difficulty as she reached up to pat at his cheek, "Glad to see you too, Chief Barb."

_I'm glad it's Barbatos._

Andromalius humphed clearly upset about their closeness.  _"Speak for yourself."_

"My darling sparrow, I never thought I'd see you again!" he said with a boisterous laughter.

"Neither did I." Pointing down to the ground, Barbatos obliged to putting her down on the floor next to Scheherazade.

Said magi turned to face Noé with interest clearly etched on her face before turning to Barbatos. "You know her." It wasn't a question but rather a statement of fact.

"That I do, my esteemed magi." He reached down with a finger to pat Noé's head. "She's a great champion in both arms and intelligence."

"You flatter me." Noé waved dismissively before smirking smugly. "Go on."

Barbatos's laughter rung through the empty room again but died quicker this time around when his sight focused back on her. "Although I am glad to see you, Noé, I have to say that I'm also puzzled as to how that is possible in itself."

"Believe me, it's a really long story and not a particularly interesting one, Chief Barb." Although not satisfied with her answer by the looks of his frown, he refrained from interrupting her as she continued. "However, I did ask Scheherazade to summon you from your metal vessel for a reason."

"Yes, that much I assumed." His arms crossed over his chest as his large beastly legs did the same and he took a seat before the two of them. "What did you need me for?"

Noé nodded and went right to the point. "It's about the other recorders. Tanvi was one of yours. Were you ever in the know of what she or any of the others planned to do?"

Barbatos held his chin between his fingers, pensively humming to himself before lifting his gaze. With a childish pout, he shook his head. "Nothing specific comes to mind. Tanvi kept to herself more often than not, especially about your guys' affairs. Your work wasn't something any of us delved into much out of respect."

_Or spite, in the cases of a few._

"Why are you asking for, if I may know?" Noé gave him the same explanation she gave the others. There was a darkness spreading that threatened to destroy the world. She didn't intend for it to do that without putting up a fight first. "I see. Sadly, my knowledge of the recorders was minimal." A quick snap of his fingers changed his forlorn expression. "But we were made aware of your powers. Mostly as a precaution." That caught her interest, an eyebrow raising in question that made him continue. "That raw magoi you invoke reacts variably with ours depending on who it is." His clawed finger lowered and managed to gently tapped right on the arrowhead that laid on her bosom. As if responding, the eight-pointed star shone. "Grace of Sunlight is compatible with Andromalius and her magic. That allows you to perform magic much greater than any other user with the same type of magic and depending on the level of mastery, it could very well rival a magi's power."

Noé couldn't help the smug grin that came to her lips as she gave Scheherazade a sidelong glance. The magi readily ignored her and instead asked Barbatos, "And if they aren't compatible?"

"Now that's a different story." He pointed at himself and looked away as he spoke, like a child thinking aloud. "If, for example, Noé had contracted with the worst case scenario, that being someone with magic akin to mine, then Grace of Sunlight would have been useless at best and detrimental at worst."

"Detrimental how?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Certain types of magic aren't compatible with others. And in such cases, they can even negate one another completely. Succinctly put, it could render you powerless."

That it made sense got Noé to scowl. After all, she already knew that Peaceful Darkness wasn't the easiest foe. It was the worst, in fact. But with what Barbatos continued to explain, it gave it some logical sense. With a heavy sigh as she scratched the back of her head, Noé smiled weakly up at Barbatos.

"Thanks for telling me that, chief."

He nodded but wore a similarly weary smile to hers. "I regret not being of any more help than this, little sparrow."

To reassure him, she shook her head and showed him a sincere smile. "Anything is worth it if it means getting to see you, Chief Barb."

The djinn grinned before bowing before the two of them. "My hopes are that you accomplish your goal, little sparrow, and that you work alongside those others chosen by the magi and us as well."

"Sure."  _ **Not like they'll be of much help, though.**_

Barbatos raised his voice as he began to vanish back into his vessel. "We will never be able to repay the seven of you. But in the very least, know that those who feel as I do will aid you if our kings allow it so."

That show of gratitude made her grimace a bit. "I'm grateful that you feel that way but you really shouldn't thank us, least of all me. What we did, we did because we wanted to. And I've learned that you should never thank someone for their selfishness. All it does is feed their ego and turn them arrogant." Her fingers gripped the hilt of his vessel and took it out of the ground to swing it over her shoulder. "Speaking of which, how 'bout wrangling that little red cub you have for a master?" Despite having turned into the burden she thought he'd be, Noé saw potential in such a cub mastering the powers of a djinn. "Get him to train even more with you so the next time his suicidal urges kick in and he sticks his nose were he isn't supposed to, he'll be able to defend himself at least."

The comment got Barbatos to chuckle and agree before he completely disappeared into his vessel and leaving behind nothing but silence between Noé and Scheherazade.  _And then there were two._

The soft intake of air beside her got Noé to grin and glance sideways at the magi. "Don't bother, Hera. You know I won't answer." Scheherazade's opened mouth slowly closed. Noé knew she'd ask about her talk with Barbatos—especially about the familiarity between the two of them—but she wasn't keen of telling her anything anymore.

"Then allow me to thank you in earnest this time." This caught Noé the tiniest bit by surprise and made her turn fully to the magi. "For rescuing the priestesses and for protecting Muu."

"Like I said…" her voice drawled with the sigh she exhaled, "don't go around thanking people without knowing their intentions." Noé let the hostility that hung about her mind disappear into the back of it before scowling childishly down at Scheherazade. "Things would've gone a lot smoother had the cub not snuck out, though. Seriously, Hera-chan, teach the kid some goddamn common sense. He's too headstrong for his own good."

Scheherazade nodded in agreement. "That may be due to his young age, something I took into account when choosing him as a king vessel. However, I believed then just like I do now that he has great potential to do astounding things."

_I wonder about that._

" _She chose him for a reason."_

_Oh, nice to know you're back, jealous mealous._

Chief indignantly humphed again and tossed around muttered objections to being called that which made Noé chuckle. The chat in her head got suddenly interrupted by the muffled voice that echoed through marbled walls along with pattering footsteps that ran the granite halls.

"Scheherazade-sama." The doors of the training grounds were pushed open and through them came one of the priestesses. The moment that platinum hair and sea glass eyes came into her view, Noé recognized Seraphina beyond her mildly bated breath and knitted brow.

"What is it, child?"

"Well—" Her eyes flickered back and forth between Scheherazade and Noé. She didn't appear comfortable talking in front of a stranger. Noé tried dissuading her discomfort with a wave of her hand and smile. It didn't do much but Seraphina at least gathered the courage to speak. "It's Muu. I'm worried he exhausted his magoi too much this time."

"Yes, I've been made aware of what he did and his condition." Heaving a sigh, Scheherazade lifted her gaze to meet Seraphina's before smiling. "I will come to his bedside to assure ourselves that he isn't in anymore danger." The little priestess nodded but the concern was still pretty obvious on her face.

Those kind of faces were the ones Noé hated the most in children. Without intending to, the words slipped from her lips before she could think anything of them. "I doubt he'll die, if that's what worries you." Both of them turned to look at her and the sudden scrutiny took her aback somewhat. "I mean, even if he's just a cub, he's still a Fanalis. I doubt something like this will make him kick the bucket." Taking the few steps to stand before Seraphina, Noé stretched out the hand holding the sword for her to take. The little priestess took it hesitantly, the weight of it making her hold it with both her small hands. Her hands now free, Noé ruffled her platinum locks and grinned. "By the way, you weren't half bad back there. Whatever it is your learning here, keep at it. You'll make a good Regalia one day."

Seraphina lowered her head but gazed up after a moment, her eyes determined and cheeks flushing. "T-Thank you, miss. For helping Muu and for saving us too."

_What's with everyone thanking me today?_

" _What you did warrants gratitude, Noé. For as much as you want to paint it as such, your deeds tonight were the farthest thing from selfish."_

She didn't think so, but arguing with Chief and repeating herself over and over again weren't things she wanted to do right now. Her gaze focused down on the young magician before her instead. "Don't get used to it. Being a meek damsel in distress won't work forever. You have to be strong and able, little missy, because I can assure you that there'll come the day where no one will be there to save you but yourself."

There was no hesitation in the answer Seraphina gave. "Muu will save me. He always will."

"That cub needs to learn how to save himself first before thinking about saving others." That being said, Noé looked over her shoulder at Scheherazade and grinned. "Teach them well, Hera. It'd be tragic to come back to learn they're both six feet under because their heads were filled with nothing but pipe dreams."

Leaving the magi no time to reply, Noé flashed out of the temple.

* * *

**|ii.|**

_It's nice to know this place never changes._

Bustling with a vibrant energy, Reim's capitol, Remano, never failed to lift her spirits. The colosseum and casinos made the place so busy and crowded that no matter where she looked there was always something going on. Even as she idly leaned against a pillar while mindlessly strumming her lute, the people minded her very little being much busier with their own lives. The kids however would pause briefly in their play and arch their heads back to gawk at her before running off to call their friends over.

Children being very attracted to her was something she surmised after experiencing this a couple of times too many before. They were her best audience so Noé didn't complain. Despite how hard they were to deal with, she had nothing against them. Children were innocent of any and every sin until they came to face the world and those who lived in it. Children weren't born knowing how to hate or who to antagonize; they were born craving love and knowing only how to give it. They found joy and wonder in the smallest of things and knew not of impossibility.

Seeing them dance carelessly and sing along like the rest of the world didn't matter warmed Noé's heart. The sight was rare even now. Children too often were poisoned by the greed and prejudice of people and the world at large. How sad that to grow up for them meant to face a cruel world that would destroy them down to their cores.

" _It is for the betterment of the world."_  Noé missed a string but played it off while ignoring Chief's crudeness.  _"Those who cannot survive will perish as nature demands it. It is a small mercy compared to the suffering they would encounter for the rest of their lives."_

"If what nature demands of me is to break such innocence, then I refuse to go along with it." Her whispers were low compared to the music her lute made as she strummed the strings. Some children huddled closer stretching their hands as if wanting to play too. Noé obliged by holding its neck and letting them strum the strings on the body; they giggled at the noise it made and she smiled down at them.  _I thought you left those beliefs behind, Andromalius. Did life teach you nothing?_

" _It taught me plenty,"_  she replied,  _"however, I still believe that nature takes it course logically. And logic favors the lives of those fittest to survive."_

"Surviving is boring," Noé drawled on. She played the last notes and the children cheered but groaned at seeing her standing up from her place. Taking some sweets from her satchel, she tore pieces of them to give the children who giddily surrounded her to accept them. Once done, the kids left promptly and left her to dust her hands against one another before scanning the area.

_Now...which way was it again?_

" _Ask for directions, Noé."_

"But I know Remano pretty well, Chief," she claimed as she threaded through the crowd that came and went along the busy streets in the early afternoon.

" _The last time you were here was years ago."_

"Less than a hundred-fifty though. It couldn't have changed that much."

Thankfully, she hadn't been to far off the mark when guessing where the colosseum was. And since the people she was looking for wouldn't necessarily be lounging out front, Noé made her way towards the back of the enormous building. The archway leading into the outer grounds was unattended and so was the entrance, to her surprise. Seeing as there was no one to talk to here, Noé excused herself under her breath and entered the place. The inside was just as empty as the outside with only a few people walking about the long hall.

Noé walked through with her hands behind her back as she took in the sight. Despite her many visits to Reim, she seldom found herself coming to these parts. Violence and gore for the sake of entertainment weren't exactly her cup of wine.

" _Ironic considering that you inflict much of it on a frequent basis."_

"Just because I do it doesn't mean that I enjoy it, though," she corrected. When Chief hummed pensively, it made Noé add to the end of her sentence with a lopsided grin, " _Most_  of the times anyway."

The hallway she walked through opened up to show a waiting area where the whispers of people finally came to her ears. None of them looked like the famed tribe that was rumored to harbor there though. From the idle chatter that reached her, it seemed they were nothing more than gladiators. Those men talked about the matches of the day that they would fight—some against other gladiators, some against beasts. The women that came and went about were mostly there to serve the people at this foyer.

 _Not here._  Realizing that, Noé sauntered further inside the place. Though some people stared after her as she passed, none stopped her. And it wasn't hard to see why. Despite the misgivings they might have at seeing her, that same doubt would keep them from approaching her. Noé knew well how to enter a room and walk like she owned it. It made sneaking into places easy though not inconspicuous to Chief's chagrin.

Treading further into the colosseum, Noé found herself at an open area which she assumed were the training grounds from the number of people duking it out there. Men playing with toys, really. She doubted less than half of them knew how to use any of the weapons they held in their meaty, calloused hands.

A grimace came to her as she stared at the bunch nearest to her that rowdily fought against each other with swords and shields. An old man sat against a pillar near them and called out to them if they let their stances falter or saw an exploitable opening that had to be covered. Seeing him got Noé to scoff.  _At least somebody sounds like they know their stuff._

"What's a hussy doing here?"

Though the derogatory term could've only been meant for her seeing as she was the only woman there on the grounds, Noé turned with a sickenly sweet and deceiving smile to another group of men. These gathered around an oaf much taller and larger than her and that was merely from looking at him from where he sat on the ground. Lifting a finger to point at herself, Noé's smile didn't falter. "You mean me?"

"Do you see any other broad here?"

The grin settled as she stood straight with her hands held behind her back. "Well, I would say 'yes' but I think that guys would rather pay you to leave than bed them."

The oaf shot up furious and took the few gigantic steps needed to reach her. His eyes wide and veins against his temple popping, he pulled a broadsword from the sheath behind him and slashed down at her without warning. Having seen that a mile away, Noé took it in stride and sidestepped far enough from the attack letting the sword strike the ground instead of her.

"Oh, oh, oh," she huffed as she bounced back on one foot before standing right again. "That looks like it might've hurt, you know, had it  _actually_ hit. Too bad your as slow a thinker as you are a fighter, buddy."

"You bitch!" Noé trained her eyes on him as he charged forward with the sword held aloft and dodged away from every attack he struck down at her. Her hands remained behind her back all the while she danced around the swings of his sword but when she felt the wall behind, her eyes only glanced beside her before coming back to him. A nasty sneer plastered itself on his marred face as he brought his sword sideways. Noé ducked and used her hands as leverage before swiping the man's feet from under him. The ground rumbled as the brute fell over like a cut down pine. Her feet and laughter had a bounce to them as she leapt away from the heap on the ground and towards the middle.

"Now that isn't very nice, but I hope you learned your lesson." But as she turned from chastising him, emerald eyes met a handful of others who took their stances and stood at the ready to go against her. Noé let out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes a second before the hoard charged at her, all at the same time. Ready to deal with them as they came, Noé crouched down somewhat but before any could reach her a hand grabbed the tail end of her drape.

And her wing.

A squawk resembling something between a yelp and a growl escaped her as whatever had snagged it hoisted her above the ground, leaving her hanging upside down. The pain immediately tore across her spine like a million knives stabbing at every possible nerve but no matter what she tried she couldn't undo the grip that held her aloft.  _Ah, fuck it!_  Her hands clawed onto the fisted hand that held part of her drape and wing and held tightly onto it to bend forward before hooking her legs around his massive arm. Now that she hung from it like that, the strain on her wing was lessened greatly and now the only things hurting were the grip he had on it and her pride. Cheeks somewhat darkened red, Noé set her glare to whomever dared do that.

But at laying eyes on the man, her one track mind halted. Eyes narrowed and focused on the slits of the odd mask he had on. Animalistic would be the only way to describe it with the multiple eyes on its forehead coupled with the horns and protruding teeth. The way his hair was styled behind it didn't do anything to better that image either.

_A tiger? No, looks more like a boar._

"What's the big idea, pigman?"

Collective gasps and whispers came about behind her as the gladiators that had been training recognized the mammoth. "Master Cy." Twisting her neck, Noé managed to look over her shoulder at them and saw them holding their hands together before their chests almost as if in prayer. She doubted any of them were religious enough to do that here. Emerald eyes turned back to the man they'd called 'Master Cy' and gave him a droll stare.

"So, this how you pick up every lady you fine neat or am I just that good looking?"

"How did you get in here?" His deep voice rumbled as deep as it was. It certainly matched his colossal body.

Noé let her head back and grinned. "Door was open."

Cy instantly shook her, trying to pry her grip off from his hand, but the tossling only made her wing hurt more and served as the right incentive to get her to talk. "Fine, fine! I let myself in. There wasn't anybody guarding the door anyway. Plus I came looking for the Yambala."

His shaking stopped at hearing that. "What do you want with us?"

 _So he is one of them._  There wasn't a point in lying to him since he was the one she'd been looking for anyway so she cut to the point. "To train." Cy didn't hesitate to shake her making Noé squawk out in pain again. Even as he shook her though, she tried her best to explain herself before he left her with no wing to speak of. "I-I'm serious! I came all the way from south of Sindria looking for you to learn magoi manipulation!"

The shaking stopped and Noé met eyes, or mask in his case, with Cy. "You wish to learn?"

"Yes!"

Cy kept to his silence for a moment—his mask staring down at her and measuring her, she supposed. "You must pass test then."

"Test?" No answer came. Instead he shook her again, this time harder than before. Unable to keep her hold on him any longer, Noé's hands and legs unlodged from their grasp and just as they did Cy released her, letting her fall on the ground in a pile of limbs with an 'umph.' Sitting up and grabbing her wing in her arms, drape and all, to soothe the lingering pain, Noé watched as Cy motioned for her to follow. There wasn't much else to bet on so she did as he said and stood up to go with him. He told the rest to keep training and singled out a few as they walked away from the training grounds. Apparently their matches would be starting soon. That handful were the two young and old men that she'd seen before and they talked boisterously about how they'd tear down any beast or man that stood in their way.

_Tag teaming sounds unfair._

" _Subsequent battles perhaps."_

Noé inclined her head thinking that highly likely. Cy let them go as they walked through the hall and took her further into the edifice. Up stairs and through a couple doors, it took more time than she thought it would but in the middle of it, another masked individual crossed their path. This one wasn't as tall as Cy; in fact, he was most likely just about her height. They also had a much leaner body though their muscles were toned from what she saw. A mask that reminded Noé of ape gave her a once over before turning to Cy.

"What is this?" Another man. His voice slightly more pleasant to her ears than Cy's but the punctual hostility it had made her already like Cy over him.

"A recruit, Ezio." Cy gave a nod towards Noé beside her. "And a trespasser. Found her in the training grounds fighting the gladiators."

"For the record," Noé spoke up with a raised finger which caught their attention, "He called me a mean name. It was either I kicked his ass or he apologized, and he definitely wasn't backing down." She shrugged her shoulders and grinned at Ezio. "So you see how things took a logical turn from there."

Ezio crossed his arms over his broad chest and scoffed. "You think you're worthy of receiving our master's teachings?"

"I mean…" Noé drawled as her eyes turned to Cy, "he brought me here, didn't he?"

"But he won't be in charge of teaching you. Neither is he the one judging whether you're strong enough to be trained by us. That will be a decision for our master." Ezio turned up to Cy then, "Are he and Toto still treating that boy?" Cy nodded and Ezio lowered his head to think for a moment before turning back to his companion. "Take her to the box then. We shouldn't interfere while he's treating him."

"Box?" Noé repeated and jerked away when Cy tried urging her forward with a hand to her back. "What's the box?"

"Where we observe the colosseum matches." Ezio nodded away and Cy obliged to take Noé who opted in walking ahead of him to avoid the unnecessary contact. Neither Cy nor Ezio uttered a word after that and they parted ways with Cy taking her to the box Ezio mentioned.

It was more of a balcony than anything. One that had a clear view of the colosseum. It was close to the arena itself but still high enough to surely avoid any collateral damage. The area was large enough to hold a handful of people but the few chairs there were empty. Their master must've been busy doing whatever the Ezio man had said.

_Treating a boy? I didn't know the Yambala were medics too._

" _Magoi manipulation can be used for other things apart from battle."_

Agreeing with that, Noé let her mind and sight wander while she waited. The loud cacophony of the masses cheering deafened her plenty now that she put some attention to it. Rows upon rows of marble and granite were filled to the brim with s who surely paid to see the bloodshed that would be put up for their entertainment. Seriously, she'd never understand how sick minds considered this amusing.

Noé walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned her arm on it to rest her chin on her hand as she watched them with disdain in her eyes. These...these were the weeds that needed to be purged first before any others from this world. Those that thrived from blood and death and went as far as exalting it. They who saw it as a commodity for their revelry.

_I remember why I never came to the colosseum now._

"Ah, you must be the recruit that Ezio mentioned."

Turning on her heels at hearing that, she found an older man walking towards her with a group of Yambala tribesmen following behind him. Cy and Ezio she recognized but the other two—a girl and another burly man—were strangers. The man that called out to her was old, his long white hair held up in the same style as the other four and a mask hanging at the side of his head. The white mustache he had caught Noé by surprise just because it made him look like an kindly old man. She had to remind herself that he wasn't though; the man before her was the leader of the Yambala and as such could very well be a powerful man.

" _Are you afraid?"_

_I prefer to call it cautious._

"My, what a young thing you are. The name's Shambal Ramal and I'm in charge of new recruits."

That in mind, Noé inclined her head in mild respect and stepped away from the balcony. "My name is Noé. I've come to train under the Yambala."

The man let out an uproarious laugh so loud that it made her jump in her skin. He held onto his chest before nodding. "Yes, yes, they all come to train under us. But tell me, Noé, why do you wish to do so?"

"Why?"

"Yes," he said, "Tell me, why travel as far as you did and meet us? To what purpose do you want to train and better your skills for?"

Taken a bit aback by the question, Noé gave herself some time to think about it. At first it sounded like a trick question, something used to set apart those they deemed worthy from those they didn't. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought that such answers wouldn't have much merit in them choosing who they taught. And even if they did, it was probably by a marginal amount. Nonetheless, she doubted answering such mundane question would be of any harm. At least with a simplified version of what her purpose was anyway.

"I want to help the world. It just happens that I've gotten as far as I can with what I've taught myself and I need to learn more."

Shambal raised an eyebrow. "That simple?"

 _In the plainest sense of it all?_ "Yes."

He huffed and lowered his head in a slow nod. "Very well. Then we shall see whether you have what it takes to learn here. We don't accept weak children after all."

"Fine by me. Just point at whose ass I have to kick and let's get this introductory stuff done and over with."

"Hold your horses there, missy."  _Missy?_  "Your enthusiasm is welcomed, however, another came before you already. Once his test is over, we shall continue with yours." Shambal motioned his hand out towards the colosseum and as he did so the crowd erupted in deafening cheers. Noé turned only for her eyes to widen at who stood in the midst of the arena.

 _Alibaba?_  Running up to the balcony, Noé forced herself to peer closer thinking she must be seeing things. But lo and behold, that blond hair and amber eyes told no lies. Despite his clothes being different from what she remembered, that certainly was him.  _He came here to learn under the Yambala?_  It made some sense. Noé didn't know how but the boy was yet unable to fully equip his djinn from what she'd garnered back in Zagan. What didn't make sense was why them when he was in Sindria and had its king, the conqueror of seven dungeons to teach him.

" _Something must have urged him to seek outside help."_

 _True._  But then that brought up the question of what exactly that 'something' was.

"Do you know Alibaba Saluja?" Shambal asked as he took his seat just beside where she stood.

"Mm," Noé hummed, her eyes not wavering away from him or from the gates as they opened to reveal his opponent.

"Then I'll ask you to refrain from helping him."

That he specifically asked for that didn't sit well with her. "Why would I?"

"Well," he hummed pensively and patted the empty chair that was beside him and a few steps back, "I say it mostly as a precaution." Taking his suggestion, Noé took it and sat back to cross one leg over the other, her eyes switching now between the open gate and Shambal. "Beasts don't discriminate between combatants. If it kills him, I'd rather it not do the same to you when it's not your turn yet."

"Be—" The load roar that rung through the colosseum cut her off but was enough of an answer to her question. From the darkness shrouding the space past the iron gates, a giant beast emerged hauling itself out into the arena to face Alibaba. It was easily fifty times larger than the poor boy and to top things off, he wasn't allowed to use Amon.

When she heard Shambal's request to not interfere, Noé thought that it'd be an easy thing to do. Knowing it was Alibaba fighting against  _that_  though did rouse in her the need to help him. Strangely enough it hadn't been just Aladdin that made an impression on her it would seem. Fate truly loved screwing with her expectations.

But as things stood now, she would have to keep her word. Not only to get a chance to join the Yambala but also to give Alibaba a chance to better himself...the hard way.

Garda was the name of the beast. The species of ape was one Noé vaguely remembered seeing somewhere in the Dark Continent.  _Chief?_

" _Maurenian baboons, I believe. Vicious animals. Females especially so."_

 _Females?_  Curious, Noé watched closely as Garda went after Alibaba smashing its gigantic fists over and over against him while the latter boy only left shallow slashes against the muscled ape. And wouldn't she know it, no stones. Noé chuckled under her breath as she sat back against her chair in slight disbelief.  _Boy, did Alibaba get the short end of the stick here._

" _It would appear so."_

And things were just getting started too. Garda, on instinct, didn't hold back against Alibaba and once it caught him, it made sure to deal as much damage as possible. A point blank hit against his stomach got Noé to flinch from the mere impact. Surely, it broke more than a few ribs there. Garda followed that by slamming its fists down on Alibaba before taking him by his leg and smashing him against the ground for good measure. By this time, Alibaba's blood more than painted the once bleak ground in bright scarlet.

Noé bit down on her bottom lip as anger boiled her own blood. Her foot tapped against the floor but no matter how much she wanted to stop it, she knew better than to do so. He may be bleeding, but he wasn't dead yet. Not close anyway.

But that the girl from before, Toto, pointed that he would die if this kept up only riled her mind more with nasty images that she didn't want to remember. Shambal's words only made them worse and more vivid.

Fighting until only one stood in the end in order to show the strength of their will to overcome adversity itself. Although different circumstances, Noé couldn't help but think that things never seemed to change no matter the time or place.

" _ **The strong survive. The weak perish. That is how our world works."**_

As those words came to mind, the scene before her eyes shifted. Instead of a colosseum full of thousands, it was a much smaller arena surrounded by a few hundred. Instead of a them cheering for a victor for their entertainment, she heard the howls and shouts for a victor out of necessity. And instead of a boy fighting an animal, Noé saw a dozen children a few years younger than Alibaba. All worn by years of hellish preparation, their eyes steeled to what would come and their hearts bereft of any fear or doubt. Children who knew that from the twelve that stood only one would be allowed to leave and be left to live on. In their eyes, Noé never saw a tinge of anything except determination to survive. To live through what would be the carnage of their lifetime and emerge not just victorious but as the one who'd lead them forward into the future. Or so it was supposed to have been.

" _ **A stain in the lineage cannot be allowed to continue."**_

The crowd that kept getting louder and louder in their cheers brought Noé out of her own mind as she focused on what they kept repeating. Eat. Eat.  _Eat._  Her emerald eyes darted from them to Alibaba and her breath caught itself when she saw Garda biting down on his arm with vicious force. Then their words changed.

Kill. Kill.  _Kill._

Garda broke his arm without hesitation. Noé shot up from her chair and was almost ready to flash into the arena when a hand tightly wound around her to keep her at bay. She was ready to cut off the hand of whomever it might've been but at seeing Shambal, Noé tried to rein in her anger for a few seconds and hoped it was enough time for the old man to explain himself. For his sake.

"Do you believe he's bound to be defeated?"

"He's fighting with only one functional arm," Noé hissed through gritted teeth and tampered temper. "You tell me the odds of him getting out of this alive."

"That is true." The hold on her arm slackened but didn't recede. "Both yours and Toto's concern aren't misguided. However, look at his eyes."

Doing just that, Noé stared down at Alibaba as he regained consciousness and held onto his arm before looking into his eyes. Her eyes widened a bit at seeing his filled with conviction instead of the fear she had expected.

"Tell me, are those the eyes of a man who's ready to die?"

 _No._   _Those are the eyes of someone who's willing to do anything to live._

And Alibaba did his damnedest to be the one standing in the end. The way he used Garda's own zeal against it and plunged a statue's spear through its mouth. The way he incapacitated Garda's arm by making it punch a sword into its own fist.

"They both lost one arm each. Now they are even."

"No," she heard herself say under her breath but also heard Shambal echo her. Noé glanced over her shoulder and saw the old man smile at her before nodding. "The match has already ended."

And true to their words, after slash and slash and slash of his sword, the shallow wounds became too many for the beast to sustain. It fell back unconscious and in the end Alibaba stood victorious. The crowd erupted into cheers louder than before but the sound wasn't as much of a commotion as the silhouette's that suddenly swarmed around Alibaba. They were a mix; wings the brightest of white and the darkest of black. They rose in a bicolor storm, joining together to a faint gray and receding into nothing in the span of a single heartbeat.

She didn't understand what exactly happened but one thing was for sure, she'd greatly underestimated Alibaba. Old man Amon was no doubt proud of the king he chose. Shambal excused himself and rushed down to the arena to get Alibaba. Relieved that things would be fine now that his fight was over, Noé found it in herself to relax and let out the bated breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

But just as that breath left through her nose as a gentle sigh, a strange feeling surged through and sent a chill down her spine. It was unmistakable now that she'd faced it multiple times already.

 _But where?_  Her eyes scanned the crowd from side to side but at looking down at Garda, Noé noticed the slithering blackness that wound up the beast's body and into the back of its neck. It took a few seconds before Garda's eyes shot open and its claws began to tremble as it forced itself to get up.

_What?!_

" _How did it do that? Dark djinn don't possess lifeforms, they create them."_

Inside Noé's mind repeated the same question Chief posed but with Garda up and the soldiers unable to keep it at bay, she decided that now wasn't the time to think about that. Flashing into the midst of the arena, she snagged a handful of her feathers between her fingers and steeled them before throwing them at Garda. A few bounced off but some pierced through the open wounds Alibaba had caused. In spite of that though, the baboon surged forward, its intent more than clear as it swept the soldiers aside: it wanted to kill. Shambal hurried Alibaba to exit the arena but as more soldiers entered the colosseum to calm the beast, Noé shouted at them to stay back.

None of them listened and the moment they stepped forward, Garda took them out by slapping them down with the one arm that still worked, slamming them against walls, or even slinging them up in the air. Rushing forth, Noé dodged out of the way of its fist and managed to somehow skirt around it. Her eyes scanned its head and in no time found what she'd seen slither up the animal. Something small and dark and it embedded itself into the back of Garda's head like a parasite. And like one, it was using its host to do what it wanted.

And it wanted to kill.

The soldiers were more than ready to kill the baboon and Noé wanted to tell them that it wasn't the animal doing this. By the look of its eyes, it wasn't even conscious anymore.  _How powerful is this thing that it's controlling such a massive thing with it unconscious?_  But that was a question that wasn't worth answering at the moment. Having a clear target, Noé flashed one more time to get to Garda's back faster but the moment she clung herself against it, it went berserk in an attempt to get her off.

Plunging light daggers from the soles of her sandals and from one hand onto Garda to keep from falling, Noé focused the rest of her mind on ripping the parasite out of its head. But no matter how much she pulled at it, it wasn't budging. Inspecting it further, she saw how the tendrils piercing the hard skin embedded themselves there turning the reddish skin a darker shade until it completely changed to black. Noé had no clue what the hell that thing was trying to do but no way was she letting it happen.

Taking a light dagger in her only remaining hand and turning it to hold it best in her right hand, Noé brought her arm back to get as much momentum to plunge the blade through the skin underneath the parasite. Garda let out a shriek as its hand clawed behind it to try and reach her but its own gigantic muscles kept it from getting too close. It left Noé enough time to try and carve the thing out of it.

She was so focused on that that she failed to notice how the beast started running towards a wall backwards. By the time she did, Noé felt her whole back burn from the sudden pain of Garda slamming itself back against a wall and getting her in the process. Biting through the pain, she ignored the white spots in her vision and her sudden lack of air to concentrate on ripping the thing out. And with how much she'd already done, it took only a few more stabs for her to rip the piece of flesh off of the baboon and the parasite along with it. Garda cried out in pain one last time before it fell forward. Taking off from its back, Noé leaped into the air and searched for the black parasite only to find it trying to slither its way to Alibaba and Shambal.

Calling to Chief's powers, she felt the warmth of her arrow against her bosom before pulling back a bright arrow on an invisible bow. Her aim laid a few feet not where the parasite was but where it would be: a few feet in front of Alibaba. Noé took a deep breath as she fell before releasing it along with her arrow just as she finished inhaling. The arrow flew and shot straight through the parasite as it sprung from the floor towards Alibaba. It caught him by surprise and he leaped backwards in his own attempt to avoid it. But the parasite, once pierced by the light arrow, hardened and fell to the floor brittle as snow and turned to nothing but dust.

Noé's cry of celebration got cut short when she tumbled down on her fall and clumsily got through it to land some feet away from Alibaba and Shambal. The blond blinked stupefied and confused but his mind managed to get at least something out.

"N-Noé-san?"

Sitting up from where she'd landed, Noé wiped the blood that had spilled away from her face and gave them a cheeky lopsided grin. "Hey, Alibaba! Fancy meeting you here."

The confusion from a few seconds before washed away as a weak smile came to him then. "Yeah. It definitely is."

Noé chuckled as he went along with her but the laughter died when the crowd's cheers—and more importantly their words—drowned it.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The elation from before now gone, Noé rose from her place and turned towards the crowd that kept shouting for her or Alibaba, for anybody, to kill Garda. They didn't seem to care who, they just wanted someone to die. To please their sadistic desires.

**Well…if it's death that you want...**

A wicked smirk came over her lips as the thought came to her and she walked closer to where Garda had fallen in the middle of the colosseum. The closer she got to it, the louder their shouts became threatening to drown even her own thoughts. But nothing would ever drown that. Noé stopped just in front of Garda's head and stroke her hand against the matted hair of the beast.

It was unconscious for good this time. It wasn't hurting anybody anymore. Yet they wanted their blood.

The smirk widened as she tilted her head up and bellowed as loud as her lungs let her. "Kill? Is that what you all want me to do?" The crowd broke in a unanimous answer and their roaring voices made the ground beneath her shake.  _How terrifyingly united a mob can be._  Using Chief's power, she ripped from the sunlight to create hundreds of arrows all aimed at Garda. The voices rung louder.

 _And how_ _**utterly** _ **stupid** _**.** _

Without a warning, Noé spun on her heels and with a broad sweep of her arms, the arrows changed direction to aim at the thousands sitting in the audience. Their roars died in an instant and it let her voice ring even louder than before throughout the whole colosseum.

"If that's what you want, I'll kill alright! So let's start with all of you first!"

The arrows shot out as if they've been released from a thousand of wound springs. Sudden cries of despair and terror erupted through the air in an instant. Many tried running but her arrows were faster than anybody. Light traveled faster than anything else. Even the sound of their horrified screams for mercy. But just as they were about to reach the audience that scrambled out of their sits in fear, a giant glowing orb surrounded the arena, keeping her and her arrows inside to protect the rest from her rage. Noé's sudden mania died down leaving on a slight smirk on her lips at seeing the borg that appeared to protect the people.

_Damn. Didn't think she'd be here._

Following the sight of fluttering wings, Noé turned to a balcony higher in the colosseum and much farther away from the arena. Ignoring the calls of anybody around her, she followed the rukh and flashed into the edge of the balcony and stood there as numerous spears were pointed at her.

She chuckled at the greeting and bounced on the stone railing to sit down on it, her ankles crossed and her hands laid at either side of her. Never changing sky blue eyes glared at her and Noé scoffed at the sight of such usually apathetic woman showing such disdain.

"Don't frown, Hera-chan. It'll leave you wrinkles."

"I have allowed you to abscond with many things, Noé. But if you dare repeat what you threatened to do today, know that I will not hold back. Not even for you."

"I guess I'll have my work cut out for me then," Noé said, losing any and all semblance of jesting around. "Because believe me when I say that I will plough through you and anybody who gets in the way of doing what I must. Be them Reimian or otherwise, I will thoroughly purge weeds like those no matter  _who_  gets in my way."

The clanking of metal took Noé's attention and her glance went askance to watch as a tall redhead took a few steps forward and unsheathed a rather familiar sword to brandish her way. "You threaten Lady Scheherazade again and—"

"What?" Noé called out with a scoff. "You'll fight me?" Her eyes wandered over the man that stood starkly in contrast to the rest of the soldiers. Long red hair and bright scarlet eyes so distinctly marked. Sudden recognition washed over Noé and the steel in her eyes warmed for a split moment as she remembered.

_The cub grew up, huh?_

A smile wanted to come to her at seeing how he'd grown from when last she saw him but Noé retained the smug smirk instead. Surely from the way he pointed that sword—his metal vessel— at her, he didn't remember her at all. Hanging her head and shaking it at how cruel time and circumstances could be, she let it remain there as she spoke.

"Don't bother, kid. Even if you were to fight me, you won't win. I've got years of experience over you and well…" Noé lifted her emerald gaze to meet with Scheherazade's faint blue, "If you need anymore reason not to just ask Hera-chan."

Silence came over the room and clung to them like the heaviest of dark clouds. But Scheherazade seemingly backed down on her anger, her eyes closing as she turned to the borg that still retained shape to keep the arrows at bay and away from the people that were still stunned by their fear.

"Will you release them please?"

Noé smiled and shrugged. "Well, since you asked so nicely." The mere thought of them disappearing was enough for them to vanish and once they were gone, Scheherazade's borg followed.

Walking forward, the magi laid a tender hand on the cub's arm which resulted in a puzzled expression from him towards her. "It's alright now, Muu. Lower your weapons." Muu didn't seem to like that idea in the slightest but eventually did as he was told after reassuring himself that Noé wouldn't do anything to harm Scheherazade. The soldiers followed suit after him. The magi then turned to her as Noé stood from her perch. "Will you remain in Reim long?"

"Why, afraid I'll go around killing your people?"

"Is there merit to that fear?"

Sheherazade was being cautious with what she said, Noé noticed. She was playing it safe, trying to not ignite any more of her fury or rip open any wounds. Guessed she did learn from the last time they saw each other. That deserved a reward, she supposed.

"No, there isn't. You learned from last time, didn't you? That agitating me isn't in your best interest."

"I've known that ever since we first met," Scheherazade corrected her, "I just never thought it necessary for me to have to be wary of where I tread with you. I see time changes many things."

"Some it does," Noé replied as she leaned back against the railing, "But mostly it just quiets pains and dulls wits. Glad it's done neither of those things to you."

"And I pity that it hasn't done either to you."

"Keeps me sane."

"Resentment isn't—"

"Resentment?" Noé interrupted and chuckled deep in her throat. "You underestimate me if you think resentment is the only thing I hold against you. But that's neither here nor there." Standing up from it, her eyes wandered to the many silhouetted rukh flying around, coveting the small magi before her. "I've given you enough of a heart attack today, haven't I? Guess I'll leave you be for now."

Noé urged her powers to come and flash her back to Shambal's balcony but just as she felt the magic work on her, Scheherazade's sweet voice halted her.

"Wait." Giving her at least that for all the trouble she'd put the magi through, Noé dispelled the seal's magic for a moment and kept herself grounded to hear what Scheherazade had to say. "Will you hunt in Reim?"

Hunt? Is that what Scheherazade thought she did?

" _She isn't all that wrong if you think about it,"_  Chief proposed with a dreary tone.  _"That is if we were talking about 'you' all those years ago, though."_

Thanking Chief that at least she was on her side, Noé shook her head. "I stopped doing that since before my visit last time. No point in cleaning out a garden a patch at a time when the others will simply contaminate it anew given time."

A fair-skinned hand tightened around the staff that the magi held as she lowered her head. Her words caused the soldiers and the cub uneasiness as well but that mattered little to Noé. What did was Scheherazade's reaction to her words—whether they held any weight or not wasn't what mattered. Noé knew she was prone to spouting nonsense that she meant one moment and could very easily dismiss the next, but every word she chose to say to the magi, she chose specifically to plague her peace of mind.

_If I don't get to rest a day, neither does she._

" _Aren't you being petty?"_

For once, she wasn't ashamed to admit that. She was being petty...and for a damn good reason. Plastering a smile on her face, Noé took the few steps to stand before Scheherazade, ignoring the tension that her proximity caused to the rest of them. With her hands held behind her back, Noé smiled down at the magi who had no option but to look up and open her sky blue eyes.

"Don't look so glum, Hera-chan. You should look on the bright side of things!"

"Bright side?" she repeated.

"Yeah!" Noé called enthusiastically, her body beginning to turn to light as she readied to flash herself out at a moment's notice. "This time around, it won't be your fault when I kill them."

Before any of the soldiers or Muu could unsheath their weapons at her threat, Noé flashed leaving nothing but tiny particles of light in her place.

**—{ii}—**

What grandeur. How prosperous.  **How repugnant.**

Reim had been home once. Now many aspects of it left a bitter taste in her mouth— _especially the people._  Born in comfort and luxury, many of its people grew feeble and apathetic. They knew nothing of what it took to survive, of what it meant to be alive. Peace did that to them. It indulged them, pacified them. But war wasn't any better. And if Noé had to choose between wanting peace or war for Reim, she would want for it to have peace. No matter how much that created the very pieces of trash she fought tooth and nail to eradicate from this world.

"You'd be disgusted, Nadi, with how complacent your people are. And with what I did to them."

_With what I continue to do._

Her voice was low, barely a whisper that not even the people walking by her could hear. But it wasn't to them she was talking to. Not knowing where to go after her little bout with Scheherazade, Noé chose to let herself roam and see where she ended. It led her to a plaza that stood just outside the area of a grand dwelling. The house of politicians or royals perhaps but that didn't matter to her. What did was the statue that she was talking to. It was one of Pernadius Alexius, one of the founders of Reim in all his glory. The chiseled marble seem to capture a strange thing about him that she seldom saw, the warrior. It depicted him as the general that he had been decked in armor and fur-lined cape and sword in one hand with a shield in the other. Lions rested at either side of him and the sight of them so close to him made Noé chuckle. She still remembered that time he and Scheherazade got chased by a wild lion and ran away like headless chickens; good thing she'd been there to haul the thing back.

Noé never liked this side of him though. Pernadius had been so much more than a warrior. He'd been a kind man, one of the kindest she'd ever met and surely that she would ever get to meet. He was gentle and patient to ally and stranger alike and he always faced the coming days with the brightest smile she had ever seen. Pernadius had truly been the sun incarnate. There truly wasn't any other way she could describe him. Being with him had been just as invigorating to her as Grace of Sunlight—she'd go as far to say that he'd been even moreso.

Walking up to the statue, she stepped up to the small fountain that surrounded it beneath and took a seat on the border half turned to better face the water. It was clear and perfectly reflected her image back. Not wanting to see it, her tanned fingers reached down to glide over the water's surface and break the reflection.

" _Are you all right?"_

"I don't know."

Many things swam in her mind after all that happened just a few hours ago. She knew that after that little tantrum of hers, it'd be rather hard to get anybody to accept her into training. There wasn't any hiding her volatile temper, not that she tried anyway, but sometimes Noé wished she could control it better. It would certainly make things smoother.

" _Don't write yourself out yet, kid. Go back to the Yambala. Perhaps they'll consider letting you join still."_

"You believe that's a possibility?"

" _Nothing's set in stone yet. Not unless you let it be."_

Her words made Noé scoff but a part of her thanked Andromalius for trying to lift her spirits. They were both aware how being like this—how threatening and upsetting Scheherazade—also affected her. For as much as she wanted to despise and damn the magi, Noé would never be fully able to. They had gone through too much together and Scheherazade had given her so much during those years that she understood that much.

" **She took so much more than what she gave. She doesn't deserve your kindness."**

" _No matter their deeds, no matter their past, we should be willing to give that which we wish would be given to us. I believe that's one way we can make this world a better place for everybody."_

_I've never wanted for anything else save someone's kindness._

Remembering  _her_ words and her own answer made her sigh deeply, a tinge of remorse spreading through and slightly constricting her chest. There were times when she thought about making peace with Scheherazade but anger and grief often prevented her from going down that path.

" _You don't have to make peace, Noé. But perhaps just for the moment and for your own good, lull it and let yourself have a rest from the hatred living inside you."_  Chief's words caught her attention not only because they fed the cynic in her but because the tone she said them in also touched the kind part of her. The one that sought out a middle ground.

And maybe what Andromalius suggested was that middle ground. It wouldn't be forgetting or forgiving— _I would never_ —but merely a brief pause. It allowed herself an interim and the opportunity to grow for her goal. Allowed herself to take what she could to better her chances of success.

Because in the end, nothing that she did now would matter once this world started anew.

_Yeah. I think I can do that for however long it takes me to train here._

" _Then how does starting by going back to Shambal sound?"_

"Sounds like a plan to me." Determined, Noé stood from the fountain ready to flash back to the colosseum. The instant she was about to though a strong hand gripped around her wrist stopped her in her tracks and made her head spin towards whomever was stupid enough to touch her uninvited.

Emerald eyes glared up and she readied to chew the person up but the moment she saw scarlet eyes with distinct marks staring back at her, they widened in shock. Despite not being a scowl, the expression that Muu had on wasn't friendly either. Noé had her suspicions as to why. But before she could even say anything, the red lion cub spoke, dogged to say his piece first.

"I want to talk to you, Miss Noé."


	8. Her Little Sun

**|i.|**

Pain was a curse. One that spread and followed like a plague; it was never quite visible when one peered over their shoulder but it was always a tangible one. Those who were burdened with it could sense it's horridness. It filled the air with a toxicity and corroded their lungs. It clung to the ankles like weights dragging them down. It tainted what could have been an ethereal sight. It bittered the most succulent of feasts and turned it into ashes in their mouths. When one thought they had outrunned it, it would always be one step ahead to punish them for their naivete.

It left absolutely no solace.

Noé lost count centuries ago how many times she believed her plague eluded only to find it rearing its ugly head at the time she was to receive her punishment. It mocked her, telling her 'this is what you deserve for thinking you can leave me behind.' It riveted her, daring her to be delusional enough to attempt and escape again.

And this time it almost got its lesson through her thick skull.

Wrists grasped painfully in iron shackles with arms pulled apart, the length of the chains pinning her to dark and damp walls long enough to give her a choice; either not let her arms rest to slacken the biting on her wrists or fall forward to rest and let the rusted iron cut into them. Simple choice were it not for something else.

Noé's mind drifted slightly, the lack of sleep taking its toll anew, but just as her body began falling forward, the slight tug of the chains on her back jerked her awake and forced her to spread her arms as far as they would go to alleviate the pain that erupted from her back. Certainly, she knew exactly the decision she would make were it that simple. But it wasn't. Those chains—those hooks on her back pierced the base of her wing and along its length, and locked back around to the shackles on her wrists.

If she slackened her arms and fell forward, the chains would pull. She could feel every nerve, every bit of skin rip with the slightest draw. Exhausted of tears and throat shredded and hoarse from crying out, there was nothing but silence now.

In that solitary torture chamber, the curse she bore was her only companion. One that promised to drive her insane. And it almost did had it not been for the ray of sunlight that broke through those rotten stone walls and trod through flooded and pest infested grounds to reach her.

"By the gods…"

Was that a voice? It sounded like it. One she hadn't heard before though. It wasn't from her captors, nor from the ones who came to rip the feathers from her wing. Arms wrapped around her waist to hold her against a mix of cold metal and warm skin and lift her. The numbness of her arms faded and reversed to pain. The deafening crack of metal breaking metal loudly echoed and one by one her arms and wing fell freed and limp against her body. What became numbness after hours, days, and months, reverted to pain once more; Noé couldn't believe she still had it in her to scream. Or maybe that was just her crying inside her mind.

It must've been the latter because she heard his voice again—a man's gentle and soothing whispers as he carefully wrapped something around her whole body to settle her carefully against him.

"Shh," he quietly said, his warm breath grazing her cold cheek. "I've got you. You're safe now. You'll be alright."

_Warm._

Tears pricked at the kindness that flooded from his words and they streamed down her cheeks quietly. Her mind failed to remember the last time someone held her so tenderly, so lovingly. The warmth spread and she felt herself melt against the cold metal and the warm cheek pressed against her forehead. The light that had poured in caught her eyes just as she felt herself melt away and gazing upward, she met eyes of the most beautiful blue. Like the sky she loved, the one she missed. All at once, her exhausted mind came to a conclusion.

_You're the sun._

* * *

**|ii.|**

"I want to talk to you, Miss Noé."

Noé blinked owlishly back at Muu, her neck craning back from his being maybe a half head taller than her, and only after a moment did her puzzled expression shifted to show off a grin. "You're gonna scare off kiddies with that look on your face, cub."

Muu's crimson eyes narrowed. His gaze went askance for a brief moment before returning to her, steeled and undeterred. "Regardless of what you say, I'm to take you back to Lady Scheherazade."

 _Is he an idiot or just blind?_  Had he not seen how crudely they treated each other? Yes, perhaps Noé had laid things on rather thickly for the little magi but Scheherazade wasn't blameless either. And at the moment, going back to her wasn't what she wanted to do.

" _You agreed to set things aside."_

 _Yeah, but let me cool off some before I go back._  If she went back now, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that her hostility would only continue to mount and explode sooner than it would otherwise.

Noé scoffed and turned halfway towards him. "And who's kind invite is this exactly?"

"Lady Scheherazade asked me to bring you back to her."

 _Oof, you are a terrible liar._ The smug smirk that twisted on her lips made his eyes narrow further. "Now, lying ain't your forte, is it, cub?"

"I'm not—"

"You may think you know Hera-chan but, believe me, I know her better than you ever will. So if you'd be kind enough to let go." Noé tried jerking her wrist away from his grip uselessly at first. Putting more effort into her attempts but finding none fruitful, she found herself tempted to simply chop either hand off to get free of his hold. It took her a moment to remember that this was a Fanalis— _half but still damn stronger than me—_ and that not even she could outdo him where strength was concerned. She let her head hang and sighed heavily through her nose before meeting his determined eyes again. "What do you really want?"

"For you to tell me what you meant by saying that it wouldn't be her fault when you killed them 'this time around'. Did you really kill our people before?" Exotically lined eyes brightened, the crimson turning a much more vibrant carmine as his tone turned serious. "And if so are you a threat to Reim now?"

That he considered her such a thing flattered her and got her grinning again, forgetting her exasperation with his hold momentarily. "Not anymore. Like I told Hera, I'm not about to go plucking weeds that'll just grow back up anyway. 'Sides, cleaning scum off Reim's streets isn't my job, but by the way you're acting, it's probably yours."

"I can't trust your word."

 _True enough._ Her smile turned playful out of the blue and she raised her free hand to show him the palm of it. Muu's brow knitted together and with his attention on it, Noé closed her hand and opened it to let the sudden spot of light she'd gathered in it to explode. The blinding light took Muu by surprise and his arms shot up to cover his face from the brightness. Taking her chance, Noé flashed out of the way and upwards towards the skyline before landing on the parapets near the manor's outside and used the pillars that rose from the ground to lean outward in Muu's direction.

She waved her hand and exaggerated each movement to pull his leg further as he glanced skyward towards her. "Not wrong but you might want to worry about the real threats out there, cub. Like that little magic city to your eastern coasts. Heard they're getting quite excited about visiting Reim and my guess is that it's not quite for sightseeing." Jutting two of her fingers out to him in solute, she winked and hollered a loud 'so long' before twirling on the pillar and flashing away.

Sandals hit the hard trussed roofs of another building and Noé spared a look behind her to make sure she'd left quite a distance between the cub and herself. Despite how well she knew she could run, she knew that if Muu was dogged enough, he'd find her eventually.

" _Do you intend to hide?"_

"I don't hide," Noé replied to Chief, her eyes on her feet as she hopped from wooden beam to wooden beam.

"And you don't run too fast either."

_What in the hell?_

Noé turned to find Muu jumping down from a higher, towering building that neighbored the one she was hopping around on. The corners of her lips lifted slightly and she scoffed as she watched him rise from crouching down.

"Impressive. Though I've gotta to say a few seconds slower than I imagined."

He didn't seem to find their current predicament as amusing as she did. "You can run all you want but I'm getting my answers."

"Uh huh," she drawled and stepped back only to flash onto the top of the nearby chapel's belltower. Her feet dangled and swayed over the edge of the parapet he now saw her on, her elbows leaned on her knees as she eyed him from above. "And you intend to catch me when I can just keep doing this?"

He didn't answer but the intensity of his eyes were enough of a reply. He wanted his answers and he was willing to chase her down for them.  _Guess that stubbornness from before didn't leave him at all._

"Alright!" she called enthused as she rose from her seat. "Let's play your cat-and-mouse game. If you catch me, I'll tell you whatever you want! Ready, set—" She flashed again and this time appeared behind him to shove him off balance towards the edge of the building. He didn't miss a beat and caught himself in time to stick the landing below where the crowded streets opened up for him. Loud shouts and words of concern came to the air but her laughter overrode them as all eyes turned to her. Noé, not minding the attention and relishing in it instead, shouted out "Go!" at the top of her lungs before jumping after him and flashing in midair, leaving nothing but sparks of white light in her wake.

— **{ii}—**

" _Give the poor kid a chance, Noé."_

Through her giddiness, Noé couldn't muster any response to Chief's plea but it did succeed in adding to her fit of laughter and her voice rang louder through the streets of the grand city. The crimson, orange, and gold hues of the setting sun set Remano ablaze and Noé basked in the light of the few remaining minutes of it as she slid down an aqueduct, her sandals taking the brunt of the wet granite and her feet reveling in the coolness of the water. At its end, she took the dive downwards to the streets below, tumbling at hitting the dirt roads and taking off on a wild run once more.

Her muscles ached, her lungs burned, and her throat was parched beyond measure, and yet there was no way she could stop herself. After three hours of playing around with the red lion cub, her high was as invigorating as the sky was endless. Noé toyed with many throughout her years but seldom did any humor her and less could keep up with her.

Muu had chased her through half of Remano, first catching sight of her in the market, then the casinos, then through the fields. Every time he found her he'd be a hair's breadth from catching her in his grasp but every time, she found a way to escape him and flash away once more with a sultry comment here and there to taunt him. But as the sun lowered and dusk turned quickly to dark, Noé knew that their little game would have to end sooner rather than later. Her swift escapes had only been possible because of the sunlight that replenished her magoi time and again through her flashing, but with it gone now, her reserves were only good for a couple more escapes if she so needed them.

Emerald eyes spared a glance over her shoulder and was met with the ever growing darkness that spread through the vacant streets. Exempting the homeless people that littered the quiet streets, Noé was alone with no sight or sound of her pursuing cub. Pocketing her hands inside her drape, she scanned the area to get an vague idea of where she was now. So much flashing disoriented her and it spotted her vision from the bright lights that blinded her with every escape.

Her fingers rubbed at one eye as she surmised her location. "Slums?"

" _Remano has no slums."_

 _Right._  Reim was known famously for having few poor citizens with the exception of the slaves they harbored. Most of those in that lower tier still had jobs, albeit low paying ones, and could earn themselves bread and water to drink in the very least. The few homeless were either too old or too sick to work those low-wage jobs and left to their own devices all the same. Through her spotted vision, Noé caught the glimpse of a girl as she cowered against the shadow of a nearby pillar. Her malnourished body shook in the cool night air and there was no way her thin and dirtied clothes warmed her enough to withstand it. Noé patted the bag strapped to her waist and counted the coins through the pouch. Thirty. Most of them would be gold, though. Undoing the knot and taking the purse in hand, she walked over to the kid and crouched before setting it between the girl's feet. Sunken eyes the color of autumn leaves blinked up slowly at her and Noé's lips turned to a taut line, the corners wanting to show the ghost of a genuine smile.

"This should last you a month maybe. Get something to eat, rest up, and get yourself some work, darling."

Her voice, hoarse and barely audible, rose from chapped lips. "...why?"

This time the smile did come to her and she reached out to take the girl's hand. Though she flinched, she appeared a little too weak to fight back but Noé ignored that and caressed the back of her hand. Dirty, turning into nothing but skin and bone, but the blood she felt running through those veins was enough to tell her that she was alive.

Not well, but alive nonetheless.

"I don't need a reason." Her other hand reached back and took her gourd still half full of water and placed it down beside the bag, its contents shifting and clinking against each other. "Just promise you won't sell yourself either. Okay?" The girl waited until Noé stood back up and took a few steps away from her before nodding but as she did so, her eyes widened a bit at something behind her.

Noé found herself sighing lowly at hearing the haggard breath a feet behind her. "You're a tough one to shake off."

"I told you," Muu spoke through small pants, "I'm getting those answers."

"M'kay," Noé hummed, her throat feeling more parched by the second. Thinking it was time too end their little chase, she turned halfway towards him and noted the sleekness of his skin as the sweat fell down his face and along his neck gleaming in the torchlights of the streets.  _Must be tired too._  She gesture her thumb back to the girl behind her and smiled. "Settle her in an inn and come find me afterwards. I won't run away anymore if you find me this time around."

Crimson eyes wide, he ran at her again, hand outstretched. "Wait—" But his fingers grasped nothing but white specks of light that gave the faint silhouette of her and lighted the streets in a faint orange glow before disappearing and letting the dark settle in once more.

— **{ii}—**

She didn't know how but she managed to find herself back at Regalia's temple, this time high in its bowls where there was no ceiling to shield from the exterior and where the only source of light illuminating the lush garden was whatever crossed the sky. Tonight that source was the full moon that shone brightly in the ebony sky dotted with flecks of stardust. The moonlight veiled the entirety of the gardens she was now in. It was simple but beautiful, nothing but beds upon beds of indigenous flora and all a spotless white that in the shine of the moon took on the sheen of pearls and its leaves and stems a bluish-green hue of flowing water.

Noé stepped carefully through the marked path, a faint pebbled way that met in the center as a circle and broke out into other paths leading in different directions. On either side of the path, margining it, were narrow streams of sparkling water that must be feeding the garden, she imagined. Coming to the center, Noé watched the small basin of water—the source that tore itself apart to give life to the rest of the magnificence around it. As it depleted and died, live flourished and surrounded it. Beautifully, mockingly.

Sitting down and leaning over the edge of the small pool, Noé took a deep breath before submerging her whole head into it. Despite what it fed, the water was crystal clear and clean; it didn't hurt her eyes when she opened them underwater nor did it taste strange when she took a gulp and pulled back out to swallow. The coolness both stung and soothed her throat and her hands sleeked back wet curls against the crown of her head to take a long drawn out breath.

" _Was that necessary?"_

"I'm thirsty," she drawled in a quiet voice before cupping her hands to bring the water to her this time.

" _No. I meant giving away what you had to the girl."_

"It's what I wanted to do."

" _I don't believe she'll live long regardless of whose help she obtains."_

"Whether she dies or not isn't my concern. All I wanted to give her was the choice between dying in comfort or in pain."

That quieted Chief's protest and Noé continued to wordlessly drink from the small pond. She wondered whether the water was being magically purified or something but lost her train of thought when Chief sighed loudly at the back of her head.

" _Mercy for the sake of it is no mercy, Noé. It's nothing but a fool's task."_

"Ah yes," she chuckled but the dark undertone of her sarcasm belied her enthusiasm. She submerged her head entirely this time and whipped her head out to let her wet hair slap her back and let the cold water drench her. Taking her auburn curls, she turned to wring it where the water would fall on the flowers. "The age old creed of the Vastago: Mercy to none but the strong."

" _A creed you followed—"_

Her anger mounting, Noé didn't hold herself back and slammed her fist on the ground beside her, crushing flowers to nothing. "One you backed down on when the 'strong' didn't suit your definition!"

The burning of the right side of her face told Noé how ramped her emotions had become and she scanned her surroundings to see the fractured light around her. Light from the moon was much harder for her to control than that of the sun; both were natural but because moonlight was only a reflection given off by the sunrays, it meant more work to correct the refracted light before using it. But her volatile state of mind made things easier yet less controllable and resulted in mindless fractures in light that had no rhyme nor reason. All around her pillars of fractured light appeared and created a spectacle of shining blue and white light. A kaleidoscope of images reflected onto the sharpened pillars that pierced the earth creating split portraits of everything in the lush garden.

It took the ethereal veil of light and shattered it, but it was beautiful all the same.

_Unlike me._

Her hand reached back over her shoulder to the limp wing that hung taut against the left side of her body. Lifeless, useless, unnecessary. Her eyes took in the cracked images reflected on the clear blue crystallized light and watched her own crooked reflection stare back. Every which way she turned, she found herself crooked and broken and  _twisted_  but she supposed that was an accurate way to describe herself.

Crooked from birth. Broken to pieces by life. Twisted in mind and heart by choice.

Sighing deeply through her nose, she let herself fall to the side not minding the prickling of her wet hair against her neck and face nor the images that reflected back from the broken pieces of crystallized light. In one swift motion, she turned on her back to stare up at the sky, not caring about pang of pain that shot up her wing from the pressure of her body on it.

Pain was good. Pain meant something. Pain kept her sane.

It reminded her that there were still things to be done before she could fulfill her promise and start the world anew.

" _Gather them for me, Noé. Release me and we'll make the world into the paradise it was meant to be."_

 _Soon,_ meistras. _Soon._

The stars twinkling overhead blinked in and out, her eyes passing over each and every one of them as they did so and she reached up to it, palm open to reach out and take one from out of the night sky. Her hand closed over nothing but Noé brought it down to lay over the left side of her chest and over her heart.

"You always had the mind for abstract artistry."

Noé let that soft voice flood into her ears and tried emptying her mind of the anger that arose at the sound.  _Set it aside. Just for awhile._  Thinking about the good it would do to make momentary peace with Scheherazade—both for her own sake and her goal—put her mind at ease enough to bite back the riled remark she had at the ready.

"Sorry about that," she apologized instead, lifting her arm to let it cover the upper half of her face. "Threw a tantrum."

"Two in a day must be a milestone for you."

A scoff left her, her chest puffing up at the small action, and she wondered if the magi was as cheeky with others as she was being with her. Noé doubted it. "Seems a lot of people set off to piss me off today. Can't really blame me for it."

"You've always been a hothead, Noé, regardless of what others do or say." The soft crunching of granite underneath tiny pattering footsteps approached her until Noè felt the cool silk of her stola brushing against her arm. "It's just who you are."

"You and Nadi loved me all the same."

Clothes rustled and the cool silk came closer, the tinkling of rings hitting each other ringing overhead. "I still care about you."

**You never cared—**

Noé quieted the loud thought that shouted in her mind and chuckled instead, the dry tone of it hanging onto the tails of that dark thought. "Residual feelings, I would say. You and I have had ours differences over the years and it makes us bicker like a pair of old ladies now."  _And that's exempting the one thing a million apologies could never mend._

"We are, though."

Noé chuckled under her breath at the jab and lifted her arm away from her face; sky blue eyes stared back down at her emerald ones as Scheherazade crouched down to lean over her. Her expression was devoid of emotion but the gleam in her eyes told Noé that the magi was enjoying their meaningless chatter, itself devoid of any emotional weight. It was just an idle talk between two old friends.

_I hate to admit that I miss this._

An olive-toned arm extended and carded through long blonde tresses until it reached low enough to bring them close to press against her lips. Her emerald eyes looked from beneath her lashes and the ghost of a smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "Care to join me, Scheherazade?"

Baby blues fixated on her for a heartbeat until the magi turned to lay her staff down behind her and carefully laid herself beside Noé who released her hair and simply laid her arm between them. Both stared off into the night sky, blonde and auburn mixing like the sunset had a few hours before as they simply laid beside one another. Noé held one arm above her head while Scheherazade held one of her own across her stomach, both of them having one outstretched in the space left between them.

Carefully, Noé tapped the fingers of that hand and talked softly. "When was the last time you turned to look up?"

"Ages," Scheherazade admitted. "Too many things require my attention down here."

"You've put too much on your back, you mean."

"Reim is my responsibility."

"Not just yours," she corrected her. "Others exist to carry that burden with you."

"All who carried it with me as equals no longer stand beside me. Pernadius fought valiantly to protect it and died doing so. And I failed to protect what you loved most in this world and lost you."

This time, Noé couldn't help the venom that leaked into her words. "You chose not to protect him."

"You're right." The assertion got Noé to turn towards Scheherazade and see the tears that silently streamed down the side of her face. The magi turned to face her then, her eyes glazed over as tears continued to fall. Small, soft lips trembled as she spoke, "I chose to overlook their actions and at doing so condoned them and condemned your son."

 **His name is—**  "Say his name, Hera. Give him that at least."

But her plea went ignored. "I know what I let happen cost you dearly and for that I'm sorry."

"I've heard your apologies for ages, Scheherazade, and you still don't understand that it isn't me you should be apologizing to." Masking her mounting emotions, Noé faced the sky once more and traced each star with her eyes. "He liked looking at the stars. Said he liked imagining what it'd be like to fly into the sky and touch them. That he would fly one day to collect them in bottles to gift to us."

The dryness of her throat couldn't be blamed on the seal this time around, and Noé swallowed the lump obstructing it and chuckled thinking about her little boy. Even thinking about him now, she could hear his sweet voice as he told her about the many things he would do with those stars.  _"I'll give one to Auntie Hera, and one to Nadi, and the brightest one will be for you,_ moti. _"_

This time a sob escaped alongside her chuckle and the pricking tears blurred her vision. "Elior's the best thing that ever happened to me." She took a deep breath to deny her emotion from getting the better of her and rushed to wipe away the tears from her eyes as she sat up from their place. "And now he's the brightest among the stars."

_He'll forever be my little sun._

Noé bent her legs and brought her arms forward to lean on her knees and let her head rest on her open hands. The rustling of clothes didn't take much of her attention but the touch of Scheherazade's hand on her shoulder repulsed her. She shot up, standing in a flurry of pearl petals and pillars of light that fractured further until they broke apart into nothing.

"He is the last thing I will lose to this world. I intend to cleanse it of the darkness that it harbors in his honour. This world needs kind-hearted souls like him, not the vermin that infest it now."

"Noé," Scheherazade spoke softly, rising as she did and stretching out her hand to touch her only for Noé to take a step back. "You can't rid the world of every wrong in the world. It's impossible."

"Maybe it is—"  _For me, anyway._ "—but that isn't going to stop me. I intend to make this world better, this time for the people who rightly deserve it."

"You are no god to make that choice."

"And neither are you, great magi. Not you nor the king vessels you choose," she added. "You may be a being placed on this earth by a divine hand but you aren't exempt from erring. You are human just like the rest of us."

"That being the case, it applies to you as well. How do you even intend to do what you claim?"

"By ridding it of the pest that's Al-Thamen for starters."

Scheherazade's gaze lowered and she bent down to pick up her staff once more. Now that they stood before each other they no longer held the semblance of old friends. Now they were mere strangers—the magi of Reim and a traveler that threatened her country. The least of the evils, though, was the fact that Reim wasn't at the forefront of her list.

"The abnormality from the east?" she asked.

Noé nodded and stared off towards said direction. "I haven't been there in years but from what information I got, it seems a great deal of what I'm dealing with stems from there." She turned back and languidly pointed her finger at Scheherazade. "And by the sound of it, you're dealing with another branch of it coming from that magician country."

"Our intel isn't clear about whether it is an issue originated from the organization or simply from a country wishing to defend itself."

"You plan on attacking?"

"The emperor's wish is to further the empire across the sea."

An incredulous eyebrow lifted from Noé. "And you're just a follower of those orders."

"My concern is Reim's prosperity. Nothing more, nothing less."

"...right." Taking a deep breath, Noé looked up to the sky to calm herself, "When is this taking place more or less."

"Approximately less than year."

A grin came to her and she looked down at the magi with that ferocity shining in her eyes. "That you're telling me this so willingly leaves me wondering what exactly you're plotting."

"I'm not plotting anything. Only hoping to deter your bloodlust away from us and in another's direction."

Returning briefly to her playful demeanor, Noé laughed at her way of describing it.  _She's not wrong, though._ "Relax, Hera. Reim is somewhere close to the bottom of the list as things stand. Just be sure to not piss me off and it won't move from there."

"How reassuring," she replied, sarcasm pouring from the drawl of her words but their meaning true all the same.

"Hey, be grateful here!" Noé pouted childishly. "I'm being really nice when taking everything else into consideration."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind—"

The loud steps of something running through the halls cut the magi's words short and took both of their attentions when Muu strode exhausted out of his mind through the open gate of the garden. Scheherazade's brow knitted slightly in confusion but the low whistle that Noé let out told her that she must have had something to do with that. Turning to her, Scheherazade tilted her head perplexed. "What is the meaning of this exactly?"

"Cub and I were playing a game," Noé replied with a smug grin. "And he just won."

"L-Lady Scheherazade." The loyal soldier saluted her but his eyes darted between the magi and herself as if expecting another of her fits like the one from that afternoon.

" _He wouldn't be wrong to think that seeing how easily agitated you tend to get."_

Noé didn't deem it worthy to reply to that and instead smiled sweetly at him. "Looks like you got me. Took you long enough though. I thought Fanalis had a great sense of smell."

Though he still couldn't figure out where his attention should be, he strode closer wanting to assure himself that if something were to happen, he'd be ready to stop it. "It took time to find your scent when you kept disappearing."

"What exactly was this 'game'?" Scheherazade asked more perplexed than before.

"Tag~"

"She had me chasing her around the city," Muu corrected. Noé blew him a raspberry and pouted before putting her arms behind her head. "Either way, I found you and you gave me your word to tell me what I want to know."

Scheherazade became quite intrigued then at that and turned to Muu this time with her question. "What exactly is this that you want to know, Muu?"

The poor cub flustered at this and stammered through his choice of words in an attempt to explain himself. Noé watched intently, amused by his sudden boyish embarrassment and chuckled in the end making Muu more self-conscious than he would have been otherwise.

"No, you're right," Noé said with a clap of her hands as she took purposeful strides towards the Fanalis. "I gave you my word and I take my promises seriously." Her steps stopped short in front of him and she locked gazes with him while he took his time to recover from the arduous search. "You want to know what I meant when I said what I did?" Muu nodded slowly but the way he looked at her told Noé that he might be regretting his question right about then.  _Too late to back out, little cub._  Noé clasped her hands together, fingertips touching meekly and her sickly sweet tone belying the words she said.

"Well, even if I told you, I don't think I could put it any better than your dear magi here could." Noé teasingly tapped his cheek with her hand before glancing over her shoulder and gesturing at Scheherazade. "So go ahead, ask her. Ask her about the promise she made to me and how she broke it. Ask her how she watched a crowd of merciless animals she called 'her people' ravage and murder a helpless eight-year-old child."

The atmosphere turned sordid and the silence that rang through the garden weighed on their minds heavy as lead. Muu was left speechless when Scheherazade did nothing to refute Noé's accusations, not even lifting a finger to stop her from talking either.

Noé relished in her words but at remembering once again, her mood soured and her head hung as she continued. "So, to answer one of your questions, yes. I have killed Reim's people before. I slaughtered every single one of them after what they did. And I would kill them again if given the chance; their lives will never be worth the smallest of fractions when compared to the life of my precious boy."

That said, Noé glanced over her shoulder to Scheherazade who hung her head in shame and regret.  _Good,_  she thought,  _but far too late for that._  Not wanting her emotions to take the better of her, she turned back to look at the cub that stood with his gaze lowered too as he stared at the ground as if mulling over what she said. He might think it's a lie, that she was doing and saying all those things to antagonize her like she did that afternoon.

"It'd be reasonable to think that I just made all this up but I'm not," she muttered under her breath as she faced opposite of him and stood by his side. "And if you ask her, she will tell you the same. Regrettably, it's something we both have to live with."

_For a very, very long time._

"...see you," she whispered faintly and waved a hand over her shoulder as she walked out of the garden and used what little magoi she had spared to flash as far away as she could from them.

* * *

**|i.|**

There hadn't been anymore tears left to cry. Or at least she had thought so.

Her whole heart had shattered the instant she saw the mangled mess they made of her little boy—nothing compared to the carnage she left behind of the animals that had taken him from her. She had spent herself in tears holding the bloody remains of her son, his body still warm as she held him close and prayed to whatever gods where out there to give him back. That he deserved nothing of what her life had given her; that he deserved nothing but the kindness and love she never had. But the gods were ignorant of her pleas and took her boy from her and left his soulless carcass behind for her alone to mourn. Soul torn to shreds, she took him away from the massacre and took him home while whispering sweet nothings to try and quiet an imaginary cry that haunted her mind.

How many times had he begged them to stop? How long had he cried for her? How much pain had he been in until it finally ended?

The sheer number of questions that kept rushing into her mind served only to drive her close to madness but never quite enough to push her over the edge. She was still sane, she knew the sobs she heard weren't Elior's—they were hers.

Her tears didn't stop and the tightness in her chest only became greater as she wrapped him in his teal blanket and took him to the back of their home. That small garden that they had started together would now be his resting place. The thought swam along with her sorrow and tears as she mindlessly dug deeper, deeper, and deeper until she deemed the hole deep enough for—

_Don't think. Don't think. Don't think._

The mantra repeated and let her labor through this hardship on her own through the anguish that she felt root itself into her heart with every second and every thought. But as she held his small body in her arms readying to lower him inside to finally rest, her hands refused to let go of him. Her cries began anew and she slipped back to a seat cradling Elior close to her. Her hand searched through the blanket's openings until it found his hand, still bloodied and cut, and took it in hers. Any second now, she told herself, he would squeeze it back like he always did. Sobbing at the mere thought, she fully uncovered him and stared down at her little sun.

She tried to see her sweet boy as he'd been before but through blood and bruises and cuts, she only saw what they had done to him. Skin like hers marred and stained a deep scarlet. Dark black hair torn at places and matted against his scalp. And his wings—the only semblance left of them was the muscle and blood that protruded from his back from where they had carved them out.

They tore her little boy to pieces. They butchered him like an animal. They showed no mercy to a defenseless child—

So she showed none to them.

" _...Noé…"_

She shook her head already knowing what Andromalius would say. Her hold on Elior tightened and she hummed through her cries his favorite lullaby.

" _He's gone, child. You must lay him to rest."_

"I-I can't," she whimpered, kissing his forehead as she wept, her tears mixing with the drying stains of blood on his face. "He's—h-he's scared of t-t-the dark."

" _Where he is, there is no darkness."_

_Where he is…?_

" _Look up."_

Mindlessly, Noé did as she was told and looked skyward to see the thousands upon thousands of starts flickering in the night sky.

" _He's among them now. The many who have lived before us took him and hold him as dearly now as you ever did in life."_

"...h-he's there…?"

" _Yes, Noélia. He is. There is no pain there, there is no sorrow. Only joy. And there he will be the day you too pass on. He may be lost to you in the flesh, but not in spirit—he is a part of you, he will always be a part of you."_ Small lights flickered in the corner of Noé's vision and she looked down to see hundreds of them illuminating the small flourishing garden and guiding the way to the grave she had dug.  _"This separation is momentary, child. Today you part, but one day you will meet him again."_

Though her words did little to quell the aching, Noé took Andromalius' words for what they were worth. If anything, they were a hope that she could hold onto. Unconsciously, her body moved. She covered Elior back in his blanket and walked to bury him. She carefully laid him down assuring him that there was nothing to be scared of. Not anymore. That he would soon be flying above in the sky he loved so much and that he would be able to go and gather as many stars as his little heart desired.

Dirt on dirt, it piled and piled and obscured his body until there was nothing but a mound of unevenness left to show where he laid. Unable to keep standing any longer, Noé fell to her knees and finally fell back from the exhaustion she had ignored for longer than she should have.

But even as she tasted the blood from her parched throat and felt the pain from her own injuries, nothing compared to the anguish her heart felt. Tears spilled over from her eyes and down the side of her face as she stared blankly at the sky. And in her sorrow and anguish, Noé couldn't help but abhor the sky above her.

Be it the softest of blue of mornings, the orange-crimson of sunsets, or the dark ebony of night, she would never again come to love the sky that took her sweet, little boy away.


	9. Golden Mean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that I missed a chapter. A Bittersweet Reunion is the actual ch7 followed by Her Little Sun being ch8. Big apologies about that!

**|i.|**

Reim. The name didn't ring any particular bells which brought Noé to the conclusion that it must be a recently founded nation. One of the many she'd seen in the past centuries. Time had warped much in her mind after her half a year spent locked away underground. A jail, they had called it. She came to know it as an exhibition room where her captors brought in potential buyers—people who bought time to see the strange one-winged woman, those who bought her feathers that turned to tempered steel when ripped from her wing before they fell, or those who bought time to have their way with her.

That had been a new experience overall. One that she hadn't had in the time she lived there or otherwise. Despite the years she spent on the world, her body lagged behind having a much slower biological clock due to her Vastagian blood. Where she lost count of the years she spent wandering, Noé could easily tell the man who rescued her from those slave traders that she was but twenty and four when he asked her her age. Reluctantly, her name as well. The man replied with his in kind, Pernadius Alexius, and brought her back to the city of Remano the capital of what was but the newborn nation of Reim to his home. The trip from where he found her was a short one and Noé was thankful for that. There wasn't much she wanted to due except rest.

" _How are you feeling?"_

Her hands grasped the silver arrowhead resting around her bosom that Pernadius' men had fortunately found in the mess of the slave traders' hideout. Bastards had taken Andromalius away from her after they had drugged and caught her. They had stripped her of everything she possessed much of which they burned or threw away. Everything except the valuables, which thankfully Andromalius' metal vessel was among. The slow trot of the horse she was on was steady and didn't cause much pain to her still healing and slightly emaciated body.

_Alright, I suppose. Not as well as the last time we talked but, better now that I'm not there anymore._

Andromalius kept quiet for a second before addressing the giant elephant in the room.  _"Noé, what are you going to do about it?"_

The mere thought of it moved her hand underneath the clothes Pernadius and his soldiers provided her with to her distended belly where something grew, feeding off of her.

_I don't know._

"Noé." The bright and gentle voice that came as Pernadius turned to her livened her and she forced a smiled out of her chapped lips. Pernadius reciprocated the smile as he stepped up to the side of the horse she rode before stretching out his hands to her. "Here, let me help you off." Careful around her stomach, Pernadius easily plucked her from the horse and placed her gently on her feet beside him. Still working on regaining usage of her limbs, Noé leaned against him to use him to balance herself. "There, be careful now." His quiet whispers did wonders to encourage her forward and Pernadius walked her through the expanse of a courtyard that led into what appeared to be a palace. Small compared to some she'd seen but a palace nonetheless. Inside, old men that appeared important from how they were dressed approached Pernadius in concern, though Noé could recognize the disdain and animosity underlying some of their words.

"Perdanius! What took you so long!?" The shrill voice that rose over the rest caught Noé's attention the most and made her look up beyond the old men to a trio much more prominent than the rest.

Two women and an older man. The first woman, who's beautiful amethyst eyes shone despite being so wide, was primly dressed with all sorts of gold and silver adorning her person. The man accompanying her looked like a replica of Pernadius but a few distinctive things made Noé realize that whoever this was was probably related to him. The last woman was much shorter than the other two with long, wavy, blonde hair held away from her cherubic face by a garland around the back of her head. Baby blue eyes stared in astonishment first at Noé and then at Pernadius.

"What happened?" Hearing the petite blonde's voice let her in on the fact that the shrill voiced one was the other, taller female.

"Who's she?"  _There's the banshee._

"Brother, what's the meaning of this?" the older man called approaching them. At noticing this, Noé's instincts went into overdrive, her mind still on high alert despite the few days of freedom. Behind her, the large red wing tinted gold bristled and the feathers on it steeled piercing through some of her clothes on her back. Though she couldn't control her wing, the feathers were a different story. They hardened shot off in all different directions; a couple pierced the alabaster pillars beside them, some reached back towards the soldiers who gasped and jumped out of the way, while the ones that shot straight forward towards Pernadius' relative were blocked by a golden sphere Noé recognized.

 _They have a magician here?_  Narrowed, emerald eyes scanned the crowd and stopped at the petite blonde who held a staff in her hands outward to cast the borg over the three of them.

"You're a magician."

Baby blue eyes narrowed onto her. "And you are?"

"Scheherazade, please," Pernadius said bringing an arm across Noé to calm her down. The gesture did relax her, her shoulders slumping down and feathers turning back to simple plumage not made of steel. "Noé isn't our enemy. We found her at a slave traders' hideout. Beaten to an inch of her life and with child."

"And you brought  _it_  here?" the banshee called out, the antipathy seeping into every punctuated word. The derogatory term didn't escape Noé's ear either, but being called anything but an abomination had been something usual where she came from.

"I couldn't leave her there, Diana," he told her, his voice rather tempered despite Noé hearing the conflict in it. "She's a victim, hurt and scared, and I'm not about to abandon her—"

"I'm not a victim." All eyes turned to her then and the scrutiny made her skin crawl. Having eyes on her had become something unsightly. Rubbing her arms, they came down to protect her stomach. "Don't misunderstand, I'm grateful for you freeing me, but I don't need your help any longer."

" _Noé."_

Many voices agreed with her own words but Pernadius shushed them all with a raised hand. Turning to Noé, he held her by her shoulders and turned her fully to him so that she wouldn't be influenced by the words or actions of others around her.  _He doesn't know me if he thinks people will sway me that easily._

"Noé, what you went through is not something you need to be ashamed off."

"I'm not ashamed," Noé told him straight forward, her brow knitting down. "I got careless and the bastards caught me. I've fought to survive my whole life, and I lost that time." Her hand moved up to rest atop her distended belly and frowned, "Now I'm paying the consequences of that loss." Piercing eyes shot up to him then. "And like I said, I'm grateful but I'm not a charity case. And I don't need anybody's pity."

"Alright, alright, fine." That Pernadius was giving up so easily struck Noé as strange. Perhaps she only knew the man for a few days but he didn't appear to be the type of person to simple give up on someone who appeared to need help. It seemed to be like an impulse that drove him to aid others in spite of himself. Noé could respect that, no matter how foolish she thought it. "But think about your own wellbeing for one second. Even if you leave, you'll be with child and a woman, no matter how strong, cannot fight like that."

"I'll manage." She had managed as a little girl to fight the unfairness of the world, she'd managed now with a baby in tow.

Pernadius shook his head trying to find a way to make her understand. It was then that a soft voice rose beyond the rest and both of them turned to the magician, Scheherazade. "If not for yourself, think of the child inside you. Will you have it die because of your carelessness?"

Noé tilted her head to look better at the short magician, her words swirling around in her head and bringing to mind the words of her meistras.

" _Children should not carry the resentment of those who bore them. They are new life, a new beginning, and one that can be nurtured to be the good that counters the malice which conceived them."_

Her hands grasped helplessly at the child inside her and she grimaced. Noé vowed to never be like the woman who conceived her nor like the one who raised her. Those who hungered for nothing but power held no love in their hearts. And she had no need for power. This child wouldn't grow up spoon fed disdain and hatred; no way would she allow history to repeat itself.

 _Don't worry,_ masyliz, _if I don't find it in me to love you, then I will make sure you grow with someone who will._

Mind made up, Noé hung her head and sighed through her nose before turning to Pernadius. "Fine. I'll wait till they're born and make my decision then. Meanwhile, I'll stay here. That is if that's fine with you."

The news spread a bright smile on Pernadius and he nodded. The smile struck Noé as too brilliant to look at and brought an unfamiliar warmth to her face. Her gaze went askance and back to the three others who finally found the chance to come to Pernadius after that was dealt with. After overhearing their interactions, she understood who they were to him.

His brother. His lover. And his magician.

_A magi._

* * *

**|ii.|**

"You're still willing to take me? Even after yesterday?"

The rowdy laughter that erupted from Shambal made Noé jump slightly in her skin as he smacked his palm against his robust belly. The rest of his tribesmen were at his back, most of them in their animalistic masks and standing tall in their show of solidarity. One in particular caught Noé's eye. A young girl with black hair and piercing, charcoal eyes that stared her way. If she remembered correctly, the young lass had been among the rest of the burly men the other day during Alibaba's match.

_Wasn't she the one yelling to stop the fight when he looked to be losing?_

" _That would be her, yes."_

Chief's voice struck her a little. Despite having slept through her anger from the night before—both from Chief's and Scheherazade's words—it still irked her mildly to hear that what happened didn't seem to affect Chief as much as it had her. Then again, Chief was an old crone that had lived for much longer than Noé had, so she must know when to let go of things. Tough luck Noé didn't. Or rather wouldn't.

That all ran from her mind when Shambal let his hand heavily land down on her shoulder and shake her back and forth, the broadest smile on his face. "But of course! We have all kinds of vibrant and flashy personalities in our clan. Though you were quite feisty yesterday, I will admit that you are powerful."

_Well, he's not blind in his old age, at least._

"So I'm in?"

Shambal raised a finger and wagged it in front of Noé's face. Emerald eyes chased after the motion and though something in her temple twitched from the way he treated her like a child, she let it simmer down to allow him a chance to explain himself.

"You still need to take that test we mentioned before."

"Will it be like Alibaba's?" she asked. Shambal turned sideways and motioned with his hand for her to follow. Noé saw herself forced to trail behind the old Yambala warrior when the rest of the tribesmen left the way open for her to walk after him. She cursed under her breath hating that they'd be at her back but dealt with it keeping her feathers bristled and taut. Just in case.

"From what I saw yesterday, you're much more agile than Alibaba and well-suited for a single hand-to-hand battle. That being the case, I believe pitting you against something different would be best."

"That's your test?"

Shambal confirmed her suspicions without having to answer when they entered into the lower levels of the colosseum in silence. The poignant odor that struck Noé's nose made her reel back and cover her nose and mouth as they walked through. Just that told her that this was where they kept most of the beasts they used for battles. Nothing else explained the stench that permeated the very air around them. Growling could be heard in the distance along the stretching hallways and the scratching of claws against metal or the pounding of walls weren't far behind. A menagerie if she had ever seen one.

_Oh, scratch that. I have._

Shambal stopped at an exit to the colosseum's main floor, one she assumed Alibaba had crossed the day before for his own match. Shambal slapped her back and unbeknownst to her caught part of her wing, making her cringe. The old man scoffed and motioned his other hand out towards the arena.

"You've got the first slot of the day, child."

Noé reached back and pushed his hand away from her without tearing her eyes away from the sun-bathed arena where she could hear the quiet murmurs of the crowd outside. Hearing them made her click her tongue out of frustration. "So if I win this, I'm in and you train me for magoi manipulation?"

"We will see once the fight is over."

 _Fair enough._ "Alright," Noé said, cracking her fingers and stretching herself out, preparing to go in and beat the living hell out of whatever they pit against her. After crouching down a few times and standing with a smug smirk on her lips, though, Noé was met with Shambal's outstretched hand, palm facing up. Eyeing his hand for a brief moment, she raised an eyebrow at him while continuing her stretches. "What?"

"Alibaba wasn't allowed his metal vessel in the arena. It stands to reason that for it to be fair, you should not be allowed yours either."

His words caught her slightly off guard, her stretching stopping only briefly before she went along like nothing. Her smirk became a taut line though the playfulness in it didn't change in the least. "What if I'm a magician and not a metal vessel user? Did that not cross your mind?"

"It did," he admitted. "But from what I saw yesterday and my years of training many others, including other metal vessel users, I can tell you're one of them. Now, if you would." He extended his open hand closer to Noé and she eyed it suspiciously.

Parting willingly with Chief wasn't something she fancied. The one time they had been separated had been after she overestimated her abilities and lost a fight. It cost her much but after that she vowed never to part from Andromalius ever again if she could help it.

" _It's different now, Noé,"_  she assured, her voice much calmer than before.  _"This is a test. And it will only be for a short while."_

It did little to appease her but knowing that to get stronger she needed to pass this lousy test and train with them, Noé begrudgingly groaned and took the leather necklace where Chief's silver arrowhead rested off over her head and let it fall into Shambal's hand. "I better have it back or I'll kill you all."

"Duly noted." Shambal pocketed the arrowhead, Noé's eyes following it until it disappeared inside it, and motioned off to the rack of weapons nearby. "You have your choice of weapons. Whatever you wish to take into battle is yours. Best of luck to you, Noé." Shambal extended his hand, this time to shake hers and Noé took it after a brief glance. That done and over with, the Yambala left Noé to herself.

Her hand instinctively missed the vacancy that Chief's voice left in her head. After all this time, having her with her felt natural, a must and necessity. But Noé knew that Chief was right. It'd be only for as long as the fight went.  _I'll make it short then._

Striding over to the rack of weapons, Noé eyed them and weighed her options. Most of them were swords of varying lengths and grips, mallets and spears as well, and even small daggers. What caught her interest immediately was the small choice of bows and arrows. Those didn't seem to be anybody's first choice by the dust they had gathered on them. From the small bunch, her choice came down to either a long bow or a recurved one. Thinking that firing speed would be a better advantage than power, she took the recurved bow and a quiver of steel arrows. They weren't as strong as her light arrows nor as sturdy but she'd have to work with what they gave her. Noé pocketed a few daggers in between her obi for good measure before heading towards the arena's entrance.

Noé found herself stopping just underneath the shadow that still hid her from the crowd and tapped her sandals against the patted-down ground as she put her thoughts straight. Whatever they pitted her against would be fine, she knew this, but fighting in an arena with spectators brought back sour memories that she rather wouldn't have. Chief's absence only made them come to the forefront even more. But before they could overtake her mind, Noé shook them away and walked through the archway and into the sunlight.

There wasn't any helping the silence that suddenly washed over the colosseum and it brought a grand, satisfied lopsided grin to Noé's lips.  _Glad to know I'm not easily forgotten._ Delighted at their reaction, Noé took it in stride, mockingly sending out kisses and waving at the crowd as if she were some beloved fighter. The silence that answered her only goaded her further. That some even up and left afraid for their lives made her giggle even. The booming voice of the presenter echoed easily through the colosseum and introduced her by name. Their job though was quite difficult at the moment since the crowd didn't appear the least bit enthused about the fight.

Knowing this was supposed to be nothing but entertainment, she took a bow at being announcement and brandished out her bow and strung it out before letting the string loose. The flinching from some of the spectators got her chuckling all the more. But just then her opponents were announced and a heavy iron gate was opened by soldiers who let out the beasts she was to battle.

 _Those are...Maurenian Sabertooths?_  Dubious of her own memory as she was, Noé had to look closely at their large incisors that protruded beyond their snarling snouts. The liquid that ran down them though coated in their saliva wasn't just that; despite the distance between them, Noé could smell the hint of poison coming from their mouths.  _Yep, they're sabertooths._  And if she remembered correctly, their poison had a paralyzing agent in it too. Eyeing them briefly to count, there were five fully grown tigers in the arena. One of them in particular seemed to be the alpha of the bunch, threading forward before the others and letting them follow. It also went without saying that they looked like the one that had spent the most time as a colosseum beast by the myriad of scars on its body and the scarred out left eye.

Vicious, deadly, and riled up—perfect killing machines.  _I'm no different though._

Without needing to wait or measure her up, the tigers charged forth to attack as the pack they were. Noé sized the closest one to her and ran up to it before jumping to avoid its jaws. The stench of poison hit her nostrils and kept her on her toes as the others piled on to attack her. Relentless as they were, they weren't giving her anytime to grab her bow and aim. Noé knew that such a weapon would be disadvantageous but she had hoped that against a single enemy, it wouldn't have been enough to matter. Five was a different story. Taking one of the daggers from underneath her obi, she twirled it in her hand and rushed against the first tiger that rushed her way. Though they were quick on their feet, the difference in weight made her much quicker than they were. Twirling around the first that came at her, Noé plunged the dagger deep onto one of its hind legs and pulled out to avoid the others coming after her. Noé backed out to give herself some distance and scanned her surroundings once more.

Four were at the ready and the one she stabbed limped forward still wanting to fight.  _Persistent._ But that was fine—the dagger twirled in her hand as she produced the other one she brought along—stubbornness was definitely her forte.

"Let's dance, my beauties." The snarling roar that erupted from them was deafening as they lunged at her.

Noé had her plan out from there. She avoided the first ones that attacked her and went to disable the one that lagged behind unprotected. And though some nicked her drape or even parts of her hair, they weren't fast enough to grasp her with their jaws or claws. With practiced ease, Noé knew how larger predators relied on their strength and agility to hunt but that was taking into consideration that their prey was weaker and slower.

_And I may not be as strong as you are but I sure am faster._

The first one went down when it could no longer use its legs. Two more got the same treatment with a stab to the side for good measure. The fourth almost caught her arm as she went for it but with a quick side step that bought her time, she managed to stab its side and slash at one leg. And though she lost the dagger in the process, it had worked to cripple it out of the fight. Now with only her and the big alpha in the ring, things slowed down significantly.

The deafening cheers of the crowd that Noé hadn't even noticed before didn't distract her from how the scarred tiger prowled around her, enormous paws meticulously stepping to make the least amount of noise possible. Emerald eyes narrowed, she followed its every movement. She knew how a predator moved; she was one herself.

"Try all you want," she told it, twirling her remaining dagger in one hand and tossing it up in the air for show. She knew it wouldn't intimidate an animal but it felt good to have the upper hand and flaunt it. "You won't find any openings. Beasts who scour the earth can't possibly hope to reach a bird of prey."

The tone of her taunt must have incensed the tiger as it charged at her. Knowing there were no more distractions for it and that it'd be much harder to weaken it enough to get the battle called off, Noé ran her options through her head. Before she could get through half, the tiger feinted with a bite but when she raised the dagger to dig it up the lower part of its jaw, its claw rose to attack. Eyes widened, slightly taken aback, and Noé barely managed to react in time to redirect the dagger towards its clawed paw. The steel pierced through, the snapping of tendons and tearing muscle with the blade shaking her grip loose. Lost to it now, Noé jumped back and shook her hand as the tiger forcefully gnawed the blade from its foot. It took a step forward and limped when it stepped with its injured limb.

 _Guess it's time._  Her hands went to her shoulder to grab and brandish her bow in one hand while the other reached down to the quiver tied around waist and thigh. Just as she nocked back the first arrow, the tiger charged forward and forced Noé to move as she aimed. Thankfully, with the wall a good distance behind her, she had enough track to travel and run backward while still aiming. Once ready, she let it fly and it struck one of the tiger's uninjured legs. It toppled in its run and smashed against the ground and when it did, Noé herself ran towards it. Taking another arrow from her quiver, she plunged it onto one of it's hind legs as she ran past it and heard the boisterous howl it let out from the pain. Retrieving the arrows wasn't prudent so she left them lodged on its legs instead and ran to the middle of the arena to give herself more space. Though her muscles ached and her breath was rather haggard from all the running around, Noé needed to hold out just for a while longer. As things stood, she knew that just a few more minutes and a few more hits would end the battle. But just as she thought this, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes and turned to see one of the other tigers fighting to rise despite its injuries. Before it could fully balance itself on its legs, Noé shot an arrow that hit them near the back to push them back onto the ground. Her fingers reached down to the quiver and when they only felt the one arrow's tail, she cursed herself for not taking more.

A thunderous bellow rung through the chiseled stone walls of the colosseum and brought Noé's attention back to the tiger that was already charging her way. The distance it covered without her knowledge gave it enough of a start for it to claw her across and catch her side. Though the claws themselves didn't pierce through, Noé groaned at landing on her back ways away from where she'd been, hacking out the air it pushed out of her lungs. Feeling her hands empty, emerald eyes frantically scanned the area around her to spot the bow she'd reluctantly let go of some feet away. Just as she was about to get up to run to it, a large paw stepped on her chest and pushed her back down. Noé could feel her bones straining to not break and the pain that struck her from her wing didn't help either. Her hands frantically tried prying the large animal's paw off of her but when it's jaw opened ready to maul her down, Noé reacted. Taking the arrow still in her quiver, she plunged it as far as it would go into its side and got the tiger to howl and step back off of her. Not letting go of the arrow, Noé yanked it from taut muscle and skin—dark, warm blood spraying onto her face—before she sprinted out from under it and took her bow. Pivoting on her heels, she nocked the arrow and aimed but the blood that ran down her face and into her eyes burned and tinted her vision.

Dazed for a moment, her breath hitched when the scene before her suddenly changed and Noé's fingers trembled in their grip.

The tiger was gone and in its place was a young boy. Though he appeared no more than ten, she knew he'd spent centuries as she had training for this moment. Bright red wings were limp from her attacks and dragged behind him as he dashed towards her. A dagger in his tight bloody grip, he charged at her with fury and killing intent in his glaring eyes. Noé's grip quivered more and she heard herself whisper, "...stop." Her hands shook more but the boy wouldn't stop. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to win. But so had she. Doubt vanished from her heart and it hardened instead as her grip tightened once more around her bow and nocked arrow.

_Forgive me._

The arrow flew and a loud  _crack_  resounded through the colosseum as it pierced right between the tiger's eyes and through its skull. The massive beast walked a few languid and directionless steps before falling to one side, dead. The crowd erupted into cheers that deafened Noé as she wiped the blood away from her face to show a grimace on her lips. Tossing the bow aside, she made her way to the tiger to make sure that it was actually gone.

It was and that made her stomach sink. Reaching up to its eyes, she closed them while whispering, "I know you were just fighting to survive but I wasn't going to die either. Your fight is over,  _mano draugas._ Rest now." Eyeing the rest of the tigers that were still left alive, she offered them a tait line of her lips. "I didn't mean to kill him. I hope you understand that." The remaining four were quiet for a moment as they struggled to stand back up despite their injuries. They somehow managed to but instead of pouncing to attack, they stayed back and laid their whole bodies low in submission. They didn't want to fight any longer, not after having lost their leader. It told them exactly who held the upper hand and they weren't willing to fight a losing battle.  _Smart of them._

Though the crowd cheered, Noé didn't listen to their requests to kill them. She didn't even feel like scaring them like she did the day before. Not after what she did in her dazed stupor. Crouching down, she grunted as she tried maneuvering the massive tiger over her shoulders, the crowd slowly losing its rowdiness the longer they saw what she was doing. It quieted down to a hum by the time she managed to settle the tiger right on her and headed out towards the entrance.

Nobody stopped her. Nobody dared approach her. Not when her expression promised much worse than what she'd done to the sabertooths to anybody who would.

— **{ii}—**

The sharp clashing of knives grating against each other echoed in the lone room Shambal had provided Noé. After the battle, he and the young girl whom Noé figured now was named Toto found her taking the dead tiger away. They tried stopping her but when she mentioned that she planned to make sure his death didn't go in vain, Shambal lent her a private room in the colosseum where she could do just that. Toto helped Noé with carrying the tiger into the room and onto a stone table before returning to Shambal.

"It's her spoils," Shambal told Toto when the girl asked Noé what she planned to do with it. "What she does with them is for her to decide." Scanning the tools nearby, he took the couple of knives she was sharpening now and offered them to her. "These would work best for what you plan to do. Maurenian sabertooths have tough skin on them" was all he said before he ushered Toto and himself out of the room to leave her alone with the tiger.

" _He knew what you were going to do?"_ Shambal kept his word and returned her metal vessel, the warmth of it now laying where it belonged on her bosom.

"He guessed more than likely," Noé muttered under her breath. Finally done sharpening the machete and knife, she set the bigger blade aside and held the small one in her hand as she hung her head to recite the prayers her meistras would say to those who perished in battle.

_Leave in peace, my brother, for though you, the brave and the just, have left us in the flesh, you will never leave us in spirit. May we meet again in the new world. In our paradise._

Touching the flat part of the blade against her lips, Noé laid it against the head of the tiger before getting to work. Skinning an animal wasn't hard—she'd done it numerous times before when little—it was just time consuming. And with such a massive beast as this one, she would certainly need time.

" _You seem...pensive."_

"Odd?"

" _Very. You seldom take the time to mull over things. Much less killings."_

"It didn't deserve to die."

" _Yet you did it. You answered nature's call as a predator and established yourself in the chain they knew."_

"We are birds of prey," Noé recited, dragging the knife along the long lapel of skin she had opened to expose the inside of the tiger. She prepared a few bags on the side before continuing her skinning. "The Vastago are the regals of the skies. Nothing that flies above nor that which roams below will subjugate us."  _Nothing except the red lions._  Thinking about that, brought something to mind. "Why scare the children with tales of the red lions?"

" _Pardon?"_

"The old hag, Theone—she used to tell me stories about how Vastagian chicks would get eaten by the Fanalis if they roamed outside their nests. Where those true?"

Chief remained silent for a moment, thinking of how to phrase her sentence before replying,  _"Not exactly. We were never close enough to their territory for that to happen. Adults did scuffle with the red lions, though, and many who did returned mauled at best."_

"Dead being the worst?" Chief hummed in confirmation and Noé mimicked the noise in acknowledgement.

" _We wished to protect those prospects for the conclave. You all were precious hopefuls to guide the clan forward."_

"Not all of us," she muttered under her breath and snapped the tiger's hind leg after finishing the skinning to start with the meat on its body.

Knowing the dangerous path their conversation was treading into, Chief changed the subject.  _"What do you plan to do with all the resources you get from it?"_

Noé wasn't quite sure. A lot would come out from the tiger, that's for sure. The meat could feed a dozen and a half families for a month, the pelt could make some blankets or clothes for the upcoming winter, and the fangs and poison gland sold well in the market. But that all came after she finished. Taking a deep breath and wiping the sweat from her forehead with her forearm, Noé stood back to hang the skin she'd peeled off to tan later.

"Quite the work you've put in."

Taken a bit by surprise by the sudden voice, Noé took a brief moment to realize that it'd been Muu who had said that. She hadn't heard him walk in nor smelled him, but with the work she'd been doing, Noé didn't think it too odd. Wiping some blood from her hands as she picked the larger machete now for the muscle, she threw him a lopsided smile before returning back to the tiger.

"Still got lots to do too." She filleted part of the muscle easily with how sharp the blade was and tossed the piece of meat to the side to prepare for preservation later. Her voice carried on as her hands mindlessly took to the task. "What brings you here, cub?"

Though she hadn't gotten a whiff of him before, now that he stood closer to her, Noé caught the smell of bittersweet sweat, wet earth, and the fresh outdoors. A perfect and welcomed contrast to the stench of carnage that permeated her nostrils at the moment.

"Came to congratulate you."

 _Mm-hmm._ Despite her skepticism, she ran with him for what it was worth. "Watched the match?"

"Yes." He stepped on a wet patch on the floor of blood, which she could see just out of the corner of her vision, but didn't bother removing his foot. It didn't bother him in the least. "It was...interesting watching you fight."

"Really. How so?" she inquired in a sing-song tone as she finished boning one of the sides and turned the tiger over to do the other, not minding Muu in the slightest.

"Well, your temperance was a surprise."

" _He's impressed you didn't kill them?"_

Noé held the same amount of skepticism in her words when she turned sideways to speak. "So what if I held back? Not only did I get accepted into the Yambala, it got me new pets too. I would've had more had I not accidentally killed this one."

"I wouldn't call it an accident."

"What would you call it, little cub?"

"Mercy."

Hearing the word snapped something in Noé's mind and she struck the stone table beneath the tiger hard enough with the blade to let it stick. The shock from striking the stone transferred to her hand and Noé shook it off before going to clean her grip from the fluids covering it. "Mercy's for the weak...and stupid. I just thought to put the rest in line by killing their leader as an example." A wicked grin came to her lips as she turned to him again, "I can do that with people too, you know?"

Her words didn't faze him in the least. Not the same way they had before, anyway. Now those crimson irises only watched her more serenely than before. Patiently almost. Not getting the reaction she'd hoped for took all the fun out of teasing him and she blew a raspberry at him before turning back to work. Muu kept silent and watched her work for another second before saying, "I also come with a proposition."

"Not interested."

Muu didn't care for her answer without hearing him out first. "Latitude to go about the capital without being accosted by the authorities."

Noé tilted her head to the side so that she could hear him better, the hint of a smirk coming to the corners of her lips. "Now why would I need that?"

"You're on a blacklist after what you did yesterday to both the citizens and Lady Scheherazade. For as much as you'd like to ignore it, you are a person of interest to the military as a possible national threat."

"I'm famous?" she cooed childishly. Finally done with the skin and meat, Noé went on to clean the bone. The  _snapping_  of the fangs as she broke them off the head sent chills down her spine each time she did it.

"Infamous," he corrected and waved a hand to the tiger that laid as almost nothing but bones now. "And today only added to their suspicions."

"So what," she said with a scoff, dropping the act. "It's not like they can arrest me for being threatening. I haven't killed anybody...yet." Eyeing him when she said that and actually getting a small frown from the cub made her chuckle. "I kid, little cub. About the killing anyway. I know Reim's authorities won't hold me for nothing. Not when Hera-chan's on my side."

"She's voided the immunity you've held in Reim."

That caught her off guard completely and she missed nicking off a tiny piece of tendon on a bone, almost catching her hand instead. Noé placed the blade down before turning to Muu with a raised eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Lady Scheherazade told us about your implied immunity the other day after you arrived so unceremoniously," he explained. "She met with the court and the royals about it afterwards and it was utter madness. She tried holding steadfast but the council and the emperor himself, who heard about your threatrics, were against protecting someone like you."

 _They forced her hand._  Noé knew Scheherazade wouldn't have lifted her implicit protection without a reason. For all their differences, the magi still cared, she supposed. Must've not been enough if they made her recant it though. Damn bastards narrowed the playing field that Reim was for her immensely with that decision.

But if Muu could offer that, she wanted to make damn sure she'd get it if she agreed. "You can't possibly give me the latitude a magi's word gave me."

"You're right, I can't," he admitted, "but I have ways of giving you something close enough to it."

She could find some truth in his words. As far as she knew, Pernadius' descendents were treated as royalty and that included little cub over here. And that being the case, that he could have people on the inside that could help her reach some semblance of the freedom in Reim that Scheherazade allowed her wasn't such a far-fetched idea. But still.

_If it's sounds too good to be true…_

"What do you want in exchange?"

"I don't—"

"I hate liars. So if you're going to lie, it better be a damn good one." Skin, meat, and bones done, Noé focused on packaging everything to take away with her.

Muu lowered his gaze pensively and it took him a moment before he locked his crimson eyes on her emerald ones. "I want to be able to keep watch on you."

"Stalk me?"

"Crudely put."

"Why?"

"I agree with the court and the emperor's choice." His confession didn't strike her as odd but that he willingly voiced it did. "You shouldn't be allowed to roam freely when you are obviously a threat with no connection to Reim. But I don't think Lady Scheherazade would put her faith and trust in someone for no reason either."

Busying herself with cleaning the blades she used, Noé tapped the flat end against the stone table at hearing that and pointed the tip at him for emphasis. "Guilt does that to you."

"I don't think it's solely guilt."

_Goodness, he's unshakable on that blind faith of his._

" _Somewhat,"_ Chief added,  _"he didn't deny that remorse is part of the reason she'd been holding to your side."_

They could agree to disagree on that matter. But that wasn't here nor there. "Let's digress to what I'm interested in and get it straight. You want to keep tabs on me so I don't go in some make-believe killing spree and in exchange, you'll give me the freedom to do just that if I want to?"

"Overlooking you is what will keep the latter from happening," he corrected and then nodded. "But yes, that is basically what I'm offering you."

 _Interesting._ There was more loot to gain from this open chest though. "Alright, I'll accept your terms if I can add some of my own."

His brow knitted together in confusion. "What terms?"

"Food and lodging firstly." Though her cottage was nearby, she only went there when she needed to. And with Maahes taking care of Elior's garden, there seldom was anymore. "I hate having to scour for that when I'd rather be doing other things."

"Done," he quickly said.

That he was being so accommodating brought a grin to her face. It also made it very plausible that he'd agree to her next demand. "And I want latitude to train with the Fanalis corp."

The statement threw him for a real spin then and this time, he asked before even considering agreeing. "Why?"

 _At least he's not stupid._  Noé could respect that.

"I'm trying to get stronger. It's why I bothered with this match in the first place, to get into the Yambala tribe and be taught about magoi manipulation." She tapped the clean blade against the large bags of skin, meat, and bones that she neatly set aside. "My forte isn't strength either. Fanalis are strong by nature but they have to learn to control that strength. If I train with you bunch then maybe I can better myself in that regard." The sudden way his gaze went askance brought a grin to her lips. "What? Scared you'll be breeding a monster you'll fight later?"

"Not particularly." His words exuded confidence. The way he stood and somewhat fidgeted in place told a different story.

Noé went to dispel his uncertainty seeing as she had more to win here than he did. "Don't worry. I told Hera-chan already that Reim's near the bottom of my list, so you won't have to deal with me anytime soon. If anything, I could even come to your rescue in the future—that is if I find merit in helping you, of course."

"You're quite blunt."

"I'm a woman that knows what she wants." Waving dismissively at him, she stepped closer and jutted a pointed finger against his gold breastplate. "But don't worry about that last part though. If you manage to get me what you said  _and_  some training on the side, I'll be owing you one."

Crimson eyes still didn't meet hers until a few moments later, this time the confidence from his words reaching his eyes and body as he stood tall over her. "You've got deal."

Noé extended her hand out with her palm open and tilted her head back to look at him properly. "Shake on it?" Scoffing at her playfulness, Muu took her hand in his and shook it. Letting go of him, Noé clapped his breastplate with an open hand making him jerk back. "Fantastic! Now, if you could help me get these out of here that'd be fabulous too."

Muu eyed the bags for a moment. "Where to?"

— **{ii}—**

Precise. Careful. Meticulous.

If Maahes wasn't absolutely cautious with what he was doing, things could implode in themselves and utterly destroy everything within a twenty foot radius. And since they left him to himself most of the time in the workshop there would be no one to warn the rest of Remano if he made even the slightest mistake. Maahes held the mixed contents he concocted up not long ago in the small ceramic flask, inspecting the dense and somewhat murky liquid inside. The mixture was warm, releasing heat from the reactions happening inside, and Maahes slowly made his way to a small bucket with water and ice to chill it. It needed to be cool before he could add the last droplets left in his formula.

But just as he started taking small steps to reach the ice bath he'd set aside for it, the workshop's door swung wide open with so much force that the building itself shook and caused the poor boy a heart attack. Startled out of his mind, he lost the grip on the flask and could only stare in panic, bright blue eyes wide-eyed, as the flask made its way straight to the floor. Fortunately, a tanned, sandaled-foot shot out and caught the flask on its flat upper side, holding still to not let it fall from its place.

"Whew, quick safe." Maahes rushed forward and swept the flask in his hands before exhaling out in deep relief that he hadn't just accidentally blown a chuck of Remano out. Blue eyes strayed towards the foot and up to meet Miss Noé's cheerful grin and dark emerald eyes. "Sorry about that, Maa. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Miss Noé," he muttered with a nervous chuckle before heading to the ice bucket and placing the ceramic flask inside before pushing it as far against the wall as he could.  _Maybe that way it won't fall._  Turning sideways back to her, he was about to continue his small reprimand when he spotted the gargantuan Fanalis a few steps behind her. "A visitor?"

"Delivery boy," she corrected and patted the man's plated chest. Pointing a finger onto the table where he left his ingredients, the long-haired man carefully placed the rather large bag there. "Maahes, meet Muu Alexius."

"A-Alexius?!" Maahes repeated awestruck. Having heard about the Alexius family in Reim for years now though never seeing hair or hide of them explained why he didn't outright recognize such person. Clumsily, the young Heliohaptian boy saluted him as he'd seen many soldiers and guards do to each before raising to his full, small stature. "I didn't know. I-I'm sorry about my imprudence."

"It's quite all right," Muu replied with an amiable smile. Seeing that did get Maahes to relax a little. Reimian royalty was much more easy-going than the ones from his own country. Crimson eyes scouted the vast workshop and lingered on the strange concoctions he either had boiling or freezing over or on the half-constructed prototypes of some invention of his. "I've never visited any of our magicians' research quarters before."

"No, I'm not—"

Before Maahes could correct Muu's erroneous assumption, his words died in his throat when Miss Noé wrapped a strong arm around his neck and brought him closer to her. "Maahes, isn't a magician, cub. He's an alchemist and an inventor."

Muu's eyebrows rose in astonishment. "Is that so? That's quite impressive."

"Isn't it?" Miss Noé agreed, a wide goofy grin on her face that only made Maahes want to shrink out of her hold from the embarrassment. There's wasn't a way out of the tight chokehold though, no matter how much he tugged at her arm. "Maa is a genius! He's been working under one of your relatives, old man Natty."

"Natty?" the Fanalis repeated not recognizing the name.

"Commander Ignatius, sir," Maahes explained with a wry smile. Pushing through Miss Noé grasp, he popped from underneath her arms, leaving her to pout by herself and head to the bag Muu had left aside, to explain things further for him. "I work under him. At least that's the official decree. I spent most of my time making things to help the soldiers with their training." Maahes motioned off to a small heap of contraptions he'd been tinkering for the past month or so strewn about in a lone corner. Most in the pile were failed attempts that got rendered useless after minor explosions but he knew better than to scrap them. Failure meant nothing really. Only made him want to try harder. "And I've only recently been delving into alchemy. I'm not much of anything despite what Miss Noé says."

"Nay I say!" Miss Noé rambunctiously shouted, rising from rifling through the bag they'd brought with them with a armful of bones and teeth. Big blue eyes brightened at realizing what those were and brought a cheeky grin to her lips. "Who else but an innovator like yourself would want all these crazy things to tinker with?"

"Are those Maurenian sabertooth tiger teeth?"

"And bones!" Miss Noé called joyously as she ran up to another vacant workbench and laid them there for him to inspect. Maahes eyes took in the whole beauty of what she'd brought him. They were in pristine condition and perfectly preserved.  _And...fresh._

"Um," Maahes lips pursed, pensive with what he wanted to say, "Should I be concerned about these being fresh?"

"Not at all." Miss Noé took one of the larger incisors and scratched at the sharp end with her nail curiously. "It's my bounty from the colosseum fight this morning."

He had to grab ahold of the edge of the workbench to stop himself from falling over from the news. "Your what?"

"She entered a fight to join the Yambala," Muu explained, standing aside and leaning as far away from any of the mixtures brewing but remaining close enough to converse with them still. He nodded at the remains of the tiger with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "She has four others still alive as trophies."

Head tilting his way, Miss Noé inquired, "Where are they again?"

Maahes didn't bother hearing the end of that conversation with his mind still reeling with the thought of Miss Noé fighting in the colosseum. Adamant as she was about how inhumane that place was with both its fighters and beasts, it didn't make sense that she would join one at first. But then the second thought sunk in about her wanting to join the Yambala.

 _What is she trying to accomplish?_  Maahes knew he wasn't her confidant. Ever since she rescued him from slavery in Heliohapt, she took a more motherly role for him by taking care of him and teaching him ways to fend and survive for himself when she couldn't be there. It'd been her who incurred his curiosity to tinker and make odd inventions and who got him a place to work at where he could satiate his interest. But for all she did, Miss Noé seldom talked about herself or what she wanted. Maahes never asked, yes, but that was out of a sense that he shouldn't. For as motherly and caring as she was, there seemed to be a heavy cloud hanging over her head that deterred him from saying anything. So instead, he learned to pick up hints from the way she said things and how she moved or reacted. Never from what she actually said though because, more often than not, spoken words were more an over exaggerated truth than anything when coming from her.

But from the little bit he got now and the last few weeks of her coming and going into the cottage, Maahes could make an educated guess for what it was worth.

"Is it because of your dungeon diving?" Maahes' breath hitched at noticing her suddenly stiffening and quieting from her enthusiastic spiel. Regretting having asked, Maahes brought his arms out to dispel any importance that might've come off from his words but before he could get through his muttering mess of a sentence, Miss Noé turned to him with a taut line of a smile and ruffled his hair.

"Yes, Maa, it is."

Curt and to the point.  _Is she sick?_

There wasn't much time to ask when Muu beat him to the punch. "You dungeon dive? I thought you already had a djinn."

"I do." She pulled the necklace out by the leather cord with one finger and brought out what Maahes recognized as the tiny arrowhead of a metal vessel. It fell right against her chest when she released her tight hold on the cord and she busied herself with arranging the bones in her own odd way. "But I don't dungeon dive for djinn—to conquer them, I mean. Maahes, look!" Her quick change of subject gave off how she truly didn't want to talk about this now as she shoved a tiny bone into his face. "Isn't this what you wanted the other time you were making some fuel thing?"

"It is." Maahes had lost most enthusiasm after realizing he probably said something he shouldn't have in front of strangers. Taking it in his hand mindlessly, Maahes didn't notice when Miss Noé reached out to flick his nose. He let out a small yelp and jerked away from the hit only to hold at his nose with both hands and glare mildly at her. The soft smile plastered on her face came off as reassuring and brightened when he reciprocated it with a small one of his own.

"Anyway, Maa, I'll be sticking around Remano for sometime."

"At home?" he asked.

Miss Noé shook her head and fished a small piece of parchment from out of her pocket to pass it to him. Blue eyes became wide as saucers when he read the address. "H-How?"

"Courtesy of mister royalty over here," she said, pointing her thumb back at Muu who only scoffed lightly and shook his head. The faint smile told Maahes that perhaps Muu found Miss Noé a little bit amusing. "I'm having a luxury stay and delicious food too. Feel free to drop by and we can spend some time there and clear out the kitchen!"

"I hope you're kidding."

"She's not," Maahes assured him.

Patting his shoulder for good measure, Miss Noé grinned his way before turning to go. "You take care, Maa. I'll be coming over to visit more often so heads up, alright?"

Maahes let out a hum in agreement and watched the two leave his workshop. Letting out a relieved sigh, he started reorganizing the mess she made out of the bones all the while thinking that it'd be nice to be having her around more often.

_So long as it doesn't involve us causing accidental explosions._

— **{ii}—**

_Luxury's overrated as hell._

Bored out of her mind, Noé laid with her back on the slick floor of her brand new abode in the Alexius residence and, with her legs stretched out and leaning against the wall overhead, attempted to lessened her boredom by tossing an apple up in the air to catch. The fruit gave off a loud  _smack_  every time it hit her open palm and flew into the air higher with each subsequent throw. Big though it was, the room had nothing that kept her attention for more than an hour. Yes, the bed was enormous and soft with its silk sheets and feathery pillows and the bathing room was spacious even for her, but novelty lost its charm quickly for Noé.

" _You are an overactive child in the body of a grown adult."_

"Technically not fully grown yet."

" _No, no,"_  Chief punctuated each word with a tinge of disdain and annoyance.  _"You are fully grown. You stopped being a fledgling a couple thousand years ago."_

"Five thousand actually," Noé corrected, throwing the apple higher and almost hitting the ceiling that time.

" _See?"_

Scoffing at how easily irritated Chief got when Noé played around with those numbers, she tossed the apple higher and accidentally smashed it on the ceiling. Immediately cringing and rolling out of the way, she avoided most of the smashed pieces of fruit that rained down from overhead. An airy chuckle escaped her at the mess that littered her floor now. Good thing Muu said they'd be cleaning up this place every day.

" _Child in a grown body."_

"I'm bored though," Noé said, smacking her feet lightly against the wall. "You know I hate staying at one place for too long."

" _A night won't kill you."_

Some months could. That much she learned from overstaying her welcome in Maladh. But this was Reim and a part of her wanted to believe that perhaps she could spend even just a couple months peacefully training. A very,  _very_  small part. The thought of going out came to mind but she didn't feel like scouring the streets tonight after her whole trek with Muu in tow that afternoon. They had delivered Maahes his ingredients and he'd help with delivering the meat and skins to a shelter. From what Noé knew, they helped house homeless children and women and that put them on her good side. She even spotted the little orange-eyed girl from the other day who, though still too skinny for her own good, was at least being fed and clothed. Fighting the tigers—her new pets that were being held at the colosseum for her at the moment—had also taken a toll on her. That her mind was conflicted between resting her tired body and finding rest boring was the biggest problem at the moment. Emerald eyes scanned the messy floor sticky with juices and that it smelled rather nice made her stomach growl somewhat.

_Food sounds good._

Noé flipped to stand back up and grabbed one of the silk blankets off of her new bed to shroud her shoulders. Already having undressed to sleep, she only had on a thin nightgown on her body that left her wing free. But if she was going to go out of the room, she'd rather hide it without much hassle. The blanket was perfect for that. Silk felt incredible against her back, the coolness of the fabric sending chills down her spine, and it certainly helped soothe the aching from having had laid on her back this whole time. Not bothering with her sandals either, Noé wrapped the blanket securely around her arms and let it hide her wing as her bare feet pitter-pattered out beyond her room and into the silence of the residence.

The Alexius had a decent taste—she'd give them that—alabaster walls and columns were decorated with silks of lavish royal blue and golds and the floor beneath her feet was smooth as could be. The color reminded her of beautiful blue eyes. Reaching out with her hand, her fingers brushed against the cold, rough stone of the walls as she aimlessly made her way to the kitchen. Muu had given her a quick tour of places she could visit freely. By the looks of it, that hadn't covered half of the residence. But exploring her new abode would have to come later. Or at least until after she got some food in her stomach.

Pushing a heavy set of doors open, Noé found herself in a dark room that, as far as she could see, was quite vast. Not strange if this was the sole kitchen meant to feed an entire royal family. Noé let the door close behind her before lifting her hand and letting a little bit of light gather at her palm and form a small floating orb. To anybody looking from afar, it'd appear like a firefly. Up close, though, it was as big as her arrowhead and gave off enough light for her to scour the place. Though she tried making the least amount of noise, she couldn't help the couple of pots and pans that knocked against her shoulders or head. Damn if this wasn't the one time she hated being taller than most women. It took maybe a few minutes for her to gather a small basket of bread and jams to take back to her room. Certainly this would get her through the night.

 _And if it doesn't I'll just sneak out for more._  Snickering as she came out, her light mood broke when her ears caught a far off noise. The instant her ears perked at hearing it, the light vanished to leave her in complete darkness and she stopped dead in her tracks.

It sounded like ice cracking.

_Where?_

" _Sounds far but it could be the echo. It's coming to the left of you."_

Following Chief's directions as she went, Noé made her footsteps as quiet as she could make them and followed after the ice that kept cracking and falling apart with heavy thuds onto the ground. It took her a few minutes to find the outer grounds of the Alexius residence; the place looked to be where most training took place judging by dummies and weapons strewn about. The sudden flash of blue and ice jutting out from the floor towards one of the makeshift enemies caught her eye almost instantly. Magic. Stepping out closer but not enough to be seen, her emerald eyes caught a petite figure clad in comfortable clothes with a wand in one hand, shooting off magic attacks at the dummy. A platinum blonde braid rustled with every movement they made and somewhat haggard breath filled the otherwise empty air.

At a glance, they seemed familiar. It wasn't until she saw seafoam green eyes doggedly staring down at the dummy she attacked that Noé knew from where.  _The little regalis._  Just as she was preparing to shoot more magic, Noé raised her hand and brandished her hand outward towards the dummy. Doing so conjured an arrow of light that appeared in midair and pierced the dummy, taking its head fully off.

Seraphina, astounded and alert, pivoted with her wand held aloft ready to fight. But the sharp glare that those seafoam eyes gave Noé softened at seeing her, her brow slightly furrowing trying to figure out why she recognized her.

Basket in hand, Noé stepped forward into the moonlight to make herself seen and waved a hand languidly with a crooked smile. "Hey, little regalis."

It seemed that hearing her voice brought some recognition to Seraphina, her eyes widening as she lowered her wand. "You're...that woman. The one who saved us the time those pirates abducted us."

_Nice to know I leave an impression._

Seraphina's body turned to stand tall and prim, shoulders held back and chest out with her hands together at her lap. She'd grown into the epitome of grace even in her night clothes. She made a point to cover her upper body with her shawl and hide her wand in the process as she swept back a strand of loose hair behind her ear.  _How mechanic._

"I'm...stunned," she admitted, her voice tempered and leveled. "I didn't know you were back in Reim after these many years. Especially appearing no different at all."

"I come and go," Noé replied. Picking out a piece of bread and popping it in her mouth, she walked down the few steps to be closer to the girl. Despite having grown, she barely stood up to her shoulders but that didn't deter her from looking up in annoyance she was obviously trying to obscure with pretty words.

"Were you invited here by Master Basil, miss?"

"Don't know who that is," Noé confessed and took another piece of bread to chew on. "But little cub Muu offered me lodging."  _Not for free though._

The mention of him seemed to perk her up somewhat. "Muu did?"

"Yep," she said through another bite of it. "Not permanently though. He made it clear that I'm not welcomed here by your emperor or the parliamentary court. But I couldn't care less about what they think. And my name's Noé, little regalis."

Seraphina's gaze went askance at that, "Likewise, Miss Noé, mine is Seraphina."

"Sera's cuter," she said. That's what the cub had called her way back then anyway. Noé gave a slight nod towards the dummy she'd been ravaging with ice and that Noé decapitated. "I thought Regalus weren't trained in combative magic." The accusation made Seraphina avert her gaze, eyes glaring at the floor instead. "Relax, I won't tell on you."

"You...won't?"

"Nope!" Noé called out before going off to sit on the steps she had climbed down and set her basket of goodies beside her. "It's good to know you took my advice seriously."

Seraphina shook her head adamantly. "That night made me realize just how much of a sitting target we really were. And despite our efforts, Lady Scheherazade didn't agree with arming us."

"So you train in secret?"

"I'm not proud of doing it behind her back but—"

"I'm not judging you. In fact, I applaud your audacity." It took a lot of guts to go against a magi's word. Well, for those that revered them anyway. Noé, on the other hand, had no trouble doing that. She reveled in it, frankly.  _This isn't about me though._  Eyeing one of the other dummies left standing, she made a small motion to it. "Strike it."

"Excuse me?"

"Strike the dummy. Show me what your attack magic is like."

Seafoam eyes held her gaze for a second before Seraphina stepped back and drew her wand out. Pointing at the dummy, she took a deep breath and released the ice that ran down the ground in a straight line. It encased the dummy but broke easily after a moment or two.

"Weak hold."

"I'm aware," she replied with a frown.

"Try spears."

"Spears?"

Noé lifted her hand and gathered a little bit of light in her hand using Chief and swiped her arm across, striking the wall behind the dummy and leaving a deep-sized hole when the light shattered. "They're more condensed magic and take much less concentration too. Aiming will need some practice but if it strikes its target, it can be deadly. Give it a try."

Heaving a sigh, Seraphina raised her wand and focused. The air around Noé chilled more than it did when she summoned the barrage of ice on the ground. It made sense too since she was condensing a large amount of ice into single spears. Soon enough icicles formed around her, solidly hard and giving of a gelid air around them. Soft, seafoam eyes narrowed on the dummy and she brandished out her wand shooting them out.

All of them missed.

Noé snickered and Seraphina faced her, fair skin flushed in embarrassment and hands holding her wand tightly. "I-I'm not used to this!"

"I know," she replied through another chuckle. Noé took the bread she'd been eating, lathered it in strawberry jam, and put in her mouth. Before she went on chewing, though, she offered some advice. "Concentrate. Envision what you want to hit before you even conjure your ice and shoot when you know what it is you want to hit." Once done, Noé took the full bite of her bread and jam and watched as Seraphina tried again.

All missed. Seraphina heaved a long sigh and hung her head, but Noé nodded knowing she'd need more than a couple of tries to master something like this. "Good, keep going."

"I didn't even scratch it."

"And you won't unless you keep practicing." She shoved the whole bread into her mouth and spoke through a mouthful of it. "Now, keep at it, Sera." 

* * *

**|i.|**

"Again."

Her lip quivered as ragged breath escaped her, already too exhausted to continue. "A-Auntie—"

She ignored her pleas and sneered once more. "Again."

"I can't."

"What?"

Theone's sharp word cut threw acutely, making her shake as she held tightly onto her limp, bleeding wing. It offered nothing close to any sort of protection. All it provided was a vague sense of security. One that failed her at her aunt's acerbic words. Fed up with her uselessness, Theona swiped her arm across the table where few clay figurines and cutlery laid, flinging them across the room. The hardened clay crashed against the granite walls of the underground cavern Theone called their home and shattered into smithereens, the echoing noise jolting Noé in her skin from the fright.

Taking the strides to get to her with ease, Theone took a knee before Noé and grabbed her small face in her clawed fingers. She whimpered at her grasp, her tiny hands—human hands—desperately trying to pry those claws from her jaw. All that accomplished was anger Theone more, her claws digging into Noé soft skin and drawing blood.

"I won't tolerate your poor excuses for inadequacy. Not when the conclave if fast approaching." The hiss laced with animosity and desperation terrified Noé all the more, large and dull emerald eyes widening in response. Eyes a color much brighter than hers mimicked the emotions twined into her words. "It will be here before we know it and you  _will_  be ready. You  _will_  win!"

"B-But I can't, auntie." Noé's words cracked at the end as her eyes brimmed with tears that spilled onto her cheeks. Theone knew she couldn't. She wasn't fit to fight the others—not when her wings had never fully formed.

"You will," Theone repeated more intensely than before. Without warning, she snatched the overgrown wing that hung limply by Noé's side and clutched it painfully tight in her hands making Noé cry out that it hurt. "I've told you before, not a single one of them will receive you with open arms. No one in their sane mind would accept such an atrocious abomination as you **unless** —" The word was punctuated with pain that ran through her wing at Theone's tightening grip, "—you prove yourself to them! You will fight, Noélia, and you will win!"

_Only then will I be a part of them. Only then will I have a place to belong._

Noé had heard the speech a hundred times over. Theone fed it to her so diligently, that Noé knew it by heart now. She knew what stood on the line. She knew what it'd mean if she could win the conclave. What she could gain. The one thing she wanted: a real home.

Accepting this and swallowing her fear, Noé nodded with a quivering lip and forced the same answer she gave every single time. "I-I'll try."

"Don't try." Theone released her wing and forcefully shoved her away by the grip on her jaw. "Succeed."


	10. Where Monsters Don't Exist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Added a scene at the very end of last chapter to tie it up better. You guys might want to go back and read that real quick before continuing on with this one.

**|ii.|**

"Focus."

"I am."

"But don't think too much about it."

Frustration peaking, Noé groaned and threw her hands up in the air along with the exasperation Toto was causing with her more than vague explanations. She liked the girl and all but this was beyond frustrating. Storming out of her seat across from the young warrior's was the least she could do without causing damage to anything in her surroundings and it caused Toto to let out a hefty sigh. Both of their patience had worn thin after the first three hours of attempting to explain to Noé the concept of magoi manipulation in vain. It wasn't like Noè didn't understand what it was either; she'd known about it for as long as the practice came to exist, though she never put much attention to it until now. Regardless of her knowledge on the subject, her body wouldn't obey what her mind told it to do. And though she had an inkling as to why, it still pissed her off that she was getting nowhere with the Yambala's training.

"Looks like you two are having some trouble here."

The deadly glare Noé shot Shambal's way as he stepped into the room they were in could've very well killed him five times over. If only looks could kill. But she let that thought flee her mind as she stormed around the room trying to let some of the steam off. Toto approached her teacher, surely telling him how fruitless their lessons had turned out after three hours, before Shambal dismissed her for the day and approached Noé, asking for her hand. Too upset to care, Noé gave it without a second thought and only spared a sidelong glance as Shambal ran two poised fingers across her open palm and down the middle of her forearm. The old man gave off a pensive hum before letting go of her hand.

"Odd."

"What?"

"Your magoi," he explained, a hand coming up to stroke his beard. "It almost seems too densely packed in your body to properly travel through it."

Emerald eyes narrowed at this and she turned fully to him as she languidly leaned her elbows against the opened window behind her. "Is that a problem?"

"You don't sound perturbed by these news."

"I don't see a reason I should be," she deadpanned.

Shambal nodded in understanding but nonetheless brought the issue up once more making Noé's already high irritation mount all the more. "I believe you should find a modicum of concern in that, child. After all, a body should never be filled to the brim with magoi." Even as he explained it to her, Noé already knew the consequences of her overflowing with more magoi than her body could sustain.

It was akin to a cup densely filled to the brim with water. Though it could hold it readily enough, the collective pressure over long periods of time would cause more and more cracks to appear until eventually it breaks. The image was vivid in her head and brought to mind exactly the source of where that surplus of magoi originated from. To begin with, Noé wasn't a person with a large reservoir of magoi, something mostly due to her ancestry. Being that the case, possessing Grace of Sunlight—something that practically acted as a lodestone for light-based rukh—had its pros and cons alike. The excess magoi it brought into her body regardless of choice thus was a big mixture of both. Mostly, though, it came with one caveat: an unquenchable thirst.

The thought alone bringing a dry spell to her mouth, Noé stepped over to the table in the middle of the room and took a couple of drinks from the jug of water there. Its contents done with pretty quickly, she turned to Shambal, interrupting him midway through his explanation.

"Got anymore water?"

Though he frowned slightly at her disinterest, Shambal took her to the small cookery the Yambala used in their abode. There, once shown to the barrels filled with their reserves of water from the nearby aqueducts, Noé ravaged freely through one, plunging her head through it to take the biggest gulp she could. Through the water flooding her ears, she could still hear Shambal as he picked up where he left off.

"Noé, if you wish to be taught, I need to know what we're dealing with here."

_You wouldn't believe me if I told you._

In her head, Chief let out a hefty sigh both in thought and annoyance.  _"Perhaps offering the necessary information would make things run smoother, Noé."_

_Not you too._

" _Do you want to spend more time here than you really need to?"_

Why bother ask when she already knew the answer? Pulling her head out of the barrel she'd mostly gone through, Noé wiped her wet hair back to eye Shambal while trying to figure out an easy way to explain something like her gift in simple terms. Magic was always a safe bet to go on. Besides, it wasn't completely a lie.

"I've got magic cast on me," she simply said as she leaned over the barrel's rim. "With how small my normal magoi well is, it takes in raw magoi from the sun and anything light-based into my body whenever my reservoir falls below the maximum I'm allowed."

"Magic you say?" Noé nodded, sinking her head in momentarily for a gulp before emerging once more to meet Shambal's thoughtful expression. "Foreign magoi is quite unpredictable."

"It's stronger as hell though," she deftly added.

"Perhaps," he agreed, though not for long. "But it's also too raw for your body to process correctly. Its sheer intensity may give you more power but it should also be harming your body in the process."

_Wow, the old man knows his stuff._

" _The nature of magoi is his area of expertise."_

True enough. Noé waved a dismissive hand at that as she covered the barrel back up and hopped off of it, trotting up to a basket of fruits and taking an apple to chomp down on. Some of the sweet juices spilled over the corner of her mouth and she quickly wiped them away as she spoke.

"You're not wrong but tell it to me straight here. Will this hinder my learning magoi manipulation?"

Shambal hung his head in thought only lifting it after she finished with her apple. "It will be an obstacle, yes, but not one impossible to surpass. You'll need special guidance is all."

"I'm alright with that," she said with a shrug of her shoulders, tossing the core she didn't eat off into a bin before walking out of the crowded kitchen with Shambal coming after her. Turning up to the old man while stretching her arms lazily over her head, Noé tucked them behind her head before eyeing him fully. "So, who's gonna teach me?"

"You'll join me with the other boy, the one who fought Garda—Alibaba Saluja." When Noé narrowed her eyes on him, Shambal explained further. "Don't worry, he won't impede your own training. It's just easier to teach the same thing one time rather than multiple times to two different people."

"Why are you teaching him personally?" she asked, paying more attention to his words now that they had promptly changed the subject to little Alibaba. "I thought he was just any other kid that was going to study under the Yamabala in general."

"Well, that isn't completely wrong. However, when you first saw him, his body was being torn asunder from the inside by the two conflicting types of magoi dwelling inside his body."

_Past tense._ "He's better?"

"Miraculously," he admitted, awe lacing his words now. "The two magoi merged into one the day of the fight. It was incredible to see something like that happen without the need of intervention."

"Mm, sounds like Ali, alright."

Ever since meeting him and Aladdin in Old Man Amon's dungeon, Noé figured there had been something about Alibaba that she liked. A fire that sparked in that dungeon that burned even brighter when she met them again at Zagan's. Though she would admit he was sometimes uncool and, by proxy, rather unpopular, Alibaba had a doggedness to him that she liked. One she maybe even admired a little. Mind made up, Noé agreed to Shambal's proposal. But seeing as Alibaba was still recovering from the injuries he got from the fight the other day, her training would have to wait a few days.

"Let's give the kid a week to recover and then we'll start."

_Great. Just freaking peachy._

What the hell was she supposed to do till then?

" _You do know you have the Fanalis Corp to spar with, right?"_

_Oh, you're right!_

Learning magoi manipulation had been the issue at the forefront of her mind because, in all honesty, it'd help better than just mindlessly sparring. That wasn't to say, though, that sparring by itself wouldn't be good either. Leaving the gladiators' training grounds behind her, Noé flashed onto the lavish rooftops of Remano's edifices and scouted out her surroundings.

Well, they hadn't been at the colosseum from what she saw. And by the looks of it, the training grounds she and lil' Sera spent the night target practicing were more for the soldiers and people that resided in the Alexius residence. Her next best guess would be military barracks. Flashing to the closest part of town to them, Noé leaped off from the rooftops onto the ground below, scaring a few unsuspecting citizens in the process. It was while brushing the dust off of the skirt of her dress that a distinct smell caught onto her nostrils.

Hard spices and...the earth. No blood this time.

Chuckling to herself at recognizing the smell despite it having been years, Noé followed the scent till she spotted the bright red mane of a certain cub as he made his way into the military base. Too excited to bother sneaking up on him, she flashed right above him and fell, grabbing onto his neck and almost pulling him back with her added weight.

"Hey, little cub!"

The Fanalis cub stumbled on his words and feet as he fought to get his balance back and pull on her locked arms to keep her from choking him. "M-Miss Noé!? Where did you—did you just appear again?"

"Flashed, yeah!" she corrected as she hung now from his back, her feet a good foot from the ground. She didn't mind the pseudo-piggyback ride, though the slightly tight grip on her forearms to keep her from strangling him did make her scoot up and get a better grip around his broad shoulders.  _Too broad._  Leaning her head on his shoulder and right next to his face, Noé flashed him a cheeky grin. "You would've spotted me if I snuck behind you after all! So I knew this'd be the best way to surprise you!"

"Well," he chuckled lowly, "you certainly managed to do that."

"Hey, hey, cub." Swinging her feet back and forth in her attempt to get his attention was a little overkill seeing as she was already so near his ear, but she lived to pester people. "Take me to where the others Fanalis are, yeah?"

"You came looking for them?"

Noé nodded her head vigorously. When the movement got to be too much, Muu asked her kindly if she could stop swinging her legs behind him to which she agreed though calling him a killjoy while doing so. "I've got a whole week to spare before I start my training with the Yambala. I thought it'd do me some good to spar with them instead of sitting on my ass doing nothing."

"That's certainly a way to put," he muttered under his breath. Words she clearly heard by being so close to him. Turning to her with a smile, his cheeks matching the hue of his hair a tiny bit, he continued, speaking with a normal volume now. "I'll show you to where we usually train."

"Great!"

But when neither of them moved, Muu had to clear his throat to get her attention again. "Will...will you please get off me now?"

"Why?" Noé proposed, swinging her legs just once to punctuate her words. "I'm already here, aren't I? It'll be much faster if you just take me there."

"It's not really appropriate."

"Who cares?" she called out with a slight snicker. "Besides, I'm tired from all the flashing around I did to find you guys. Do me a favor here, cub."

A moment of thoughtful silence fell over them while Muu mused over his options. Noé waited patiently, knowing full well how stubborn she could be if she tried.

" _If he knew you as well as I do, he wouldn't have bothered asking."_

_I know. But he'll learn._  Snickering to herself as she hung from his back, adjusting her grip from time to time, Noé started humming to herself a senseless, discordant tune while waiting. It took another minute before Muu's shoulders slumped under her arms and a defeated sigh escaped through his nose.

"Alright."  _Oh, fast learner._ "But—" Her ears perked at the word, not accustomed to hearing anybody put any sort of caveat to her outlandish requests. "You have to stop calling me cub."

"It's cute though," she protested with a feigned whine through her smirk.

"Not to me," he confessed while forcing back a groan.

Noé hummed pretending to think about it before smacking her lips and tilting her head to one side. "No, don't think so!"

"Then I'm not moving from this spot."

_Eh?_

Chief's own amused chuckle reverberated from the back of her head.  _"Quite the fast learner, indeed."_

She wanted to shut Chief up but she opted for actions instead. They

spoke louder. "Oh, come on," she complained, kicking a little harder but never hitting his legs. When she didn't budge, Muu added weight to his point by slowly coming to a seat on the ground with her having to scramble to not end up like a mess of limbs behind him as her grip stayed true around his shoulders. The crowd around them merely passed by with spared glances and quiet murmurs, but none distracted her from the ordeal. One where neither was budging. And that just peeved her all the more.

" _He caught on fast to your games."_

_Whose side are you on?_

" _The logical one, you capricious brat."_

Sulking, her lip pouting a bit, she muttered under her breath, "I'm not a brat."

"I'll beg to differ after what little I've seen from you," Muu replied instead. When he turned his head, this time to look at her, the reddish hue on his skin was gone instead replaced by a smile that she was getting tired of rather quickly. "But I'm not against putting up with that though  _if_  you're willing to meet me in the middle."

Annoyance mounting rather fast, Noé was ready to get this exchange over with so he could take her where she wanted to go. "What's this middle ground?" Sure, she could've easily just gotten off and searched herself but that would mean giving up and handing him the victory. And Noé would be damned if she'd let the cub have this.

"Let's lay off of the 'cub' for as long as you're in the barracks where the others train."

Not satisfied with his suggestion, she said, "Convince me."

Letting a long, tired exhale out, Muu tilted his head away from her before turning back to meet her gaze. "You said you wanted to be trained?" When she hummed in agreement, he continued, "Well, the others acknowledge strength and respect. If you belittle me in front of them, they won't bother taking you seriously if you spar together."

"I'll make them."

"Only a few are easily spurred on like that and soon enough they'll tire of such antics." Lifting a finger for her to see got her attention, her emerald eyes fixating on the callouses running along the appendage. "If you treat me and the rest as equals though, they'll find it in them to take you seriously. Eventually." That last bit came out after a second of thinking it through which got Noé to scowl at him. "I promise you, I've known them most of my life and know how they are."

Her eyes wandered as she silently thought things through. Maybe this was the better choice. Muu knew more about his kind than she did in this world after all. Especially this group of Fanalis. Exaggerating her exhale and letting it blow off the loose strands of her auburn hair, she slumped her chin down onto his shoulder and muttered, "Fine."

"You promise me?"

"Yeah, yeah," she groaned, frustrated a bit that he was making her back down on the argument. "I won't call you cub or anything like that when we train with them. Now, will you take me to where they are so I can kick someone's ass and let all this anger out or are you gonna volunteer?"

This time the small laughter that bubbled out of him rumbled through his entire body before he deftly stood from his seat, her weight meaning nothing to him as she dangled from his shoulders again. "It's just around the corner. Hold onto that until after I introduce you to them, alright?"

Blowing a raspberry that made him chuckle a little more, she let herself rest from her flashing as Muu took her to the barracks. This wasn't a loss, she thought sourly to herself, her head bouncing with each heavy step Muu gave. No, it's just a draw—a petty compromise about nothing important.

" _Isn't a draw the same thing as a loss though?"_

_No. It isn't, alright? Shut up._  Her sulking got a laugh out of Chief that only put her in a worse mood than she already was in. Good thing that the barracks were close because Noé didn't think she'd be able to hold her ire in for much longer. She needed something to hit—hard—like ten seconds ago.

"We're here."

Taking that as her queue, she released her hold and landed on her feet without a problem. Noé rounded the tall Fanalis to meet a whole ground full to the brim with them. Women, men, and even some children, she noted, clammored through the large field seemingly made specifically for them. It's range, from what Noé could see, was as wide as the colosseum itself except shaped like a rectangular box divided into three separate parts. On the left side, the young ones were being taught by older members. By the looks of how they easily destroyed half of what they were given to kick or punch, control might be one of those lessons. The opposite side looked more of a mixed crowd and much more of a tranquil space than anything. From what she could see, it could be where they rested before going back to whatever they were doing. But what was happening smack in the middle and closest to the entrance where they stood piqued her interest more than the others. Most of the older members where there and were going all out on what looked to be free-for-all sparrings. The sight of them fighting one another with the intensity and ferocity compelled by their animalistic souls brought a broad, toothy grin onto her face.

Instantly, a memory came to mind about the old crow of Theone telling her the chilling tales of the red lions ravaging Vastagian chicks by ripping their heads clean from their bodies with the mere snap of their jaw. It sent her mind into overdrive. Not with fear but with vigor. And it boiled the blood in her veins with an intoxicating mania she couldn't ignore.

"Now this is my kind of crowd!" she cried out. But before she could leap down the several steps leading down onto the grounds, a strong hand gripped the back of her drape and held her aloft, refusing to release her even as she struggled and hissed against it.

Muu scoffed at her tantrum before reminding her that he needed to introduce her to them first. Hating to have to wait but knowing she had to if she wanted to get on with it, she stopped her tantrum in its tracks. Muu, however, refused to release her even after she stopped, much to her chagrin, and carried her by the scruff of her drape like a trouble-making feline all the way to the group of Fanalis. At spotting them—or more like, at spotting Muu himself—most of them stopped with smiles and grins on their faces as they rushed towards them.

All of them, without missing a beat, called out to him with the same title. One she hadn't heard anybody call the cub before.

The word slipped from her lips tinged in confusion. "Wait?" Noé attempted to turn her head over her shoulder but his grip on her drape kept her head from moving much. Thinking out of the box, she grabbed onto his arm and spun around so that her drape itself twisted in his grip. "You're the commanding officer of the Fanalis corp?"

"Well, I am a Fanalis," Muu commented with a smile. With a gentleness that surprised her, the cub lowered her to the ground and her feet touched the beaten dirt beneath with a soft  _thud_.

"Yeah, but…" Her words dragged on as she fixed her drape over her left shoulder properly before turning sideways to him with a tilt of her head. "Don't rich boys rather not dirty their hands?"

"How dare you insult my brother like that!? And who even are you?"

The high shrill that spat out those questions piqued Noé's interest as she turned to meet the crowd that gathered around herself and Muu. Just a few inches shorter than her, the redhead girl— _well, remembering who's who is going to be a pain when they all look practically the same—_ practically fumed from the ears out of ire for Noé. Ignoring it, though, Noé focused instead on her features that, although pretty much the same on everybody, seemed rather familiar for some reason. It wasn't until the word 'brother' registered in her brain that she caught onto why.

Wanting to cause some havoc, Noé turned with a sly grin at Muu and winked mischievously. "Your sister's kinda cute, c—" Her lips pursed at catching herself but thankfully no one heard her over the immediate shriek Muu's sister gave out at hearing the compliment.

_Saved by a banshee._

" _Makes sense. If she's Muu's sister, Diana's an ancestor of hers."_

Before she could comment on that rather unfortunate familial connection, another one of the Fanalis spoke up as he grasped the crown of the girl's head with his open palm—really easily too—and shoved her aside. Whether playfully or not was hard for Noé to tell since he did it rather forcefully. The culprit was some inches taller than Muu which meant that he towered over Noé and that itself didn't sit well with her. Not at all. What stood out with him was the nasty scar left on the left side of his mouth; a wound that left most of his teeth exposed in a rather maniacal grin. Rather fitting too.

"You must be blind, lady." The slight feral growl in his words perked her ears. "Nothin' 'bout Myron is cute."

"What did you say!?"

"Now, now," Muu called out as he stepped forward to put some distance between the two of them. "Let's not bicker amongst ourselves in front of new company."

When they stopped in their tracks to give him their attention, all eyes fell on Noé after Muu motioned to her. A chill ran down her spine at having so many Fanalis stare her down out of pure excitement. Raising a hand and saluting them with two fingers, Noé's lips turned up into a feral grin of her own.

"Name's Noé and I'm here to train with you guys." Crisp and short as her introduction was, it let the rest of the Fanalis break into a mocking and boisterous laughter that rang through the grounds and irritated Noé to no end. And though Muu tried to get them to be civil about meeting her, they were having way too much fun with what they perceived as a joke to give him any mind anymore.

"You, train with us?" Muu's sister, Myron, said. Her annoyance with the other Fanalis forgotten, she held onto her stomach and burst out into another cackle when Noé nodded as reply.

Their underestimating her just because she wasn't a Fanalis irked her, her hands stubbornly coming to her hips in defiance. "You doubt I can?"

"We'll kill you, little lady," the scarred, smiling man cackled as he held onto his side too. Dismissively, he shooed her away, his large hand obscuring her view with the motion right in front of her face. "You're better off just leaving."

_These...assholes._

" _Remember—"_  Though her voice in the back of her head was calm, Noé could tell that Chief was just as peeved as she was. Nobody insulted the strength of a Vastago and got away with it scott-free. Especially if they were belittling her without knowing what she was capable of.  _"Strength is shown through actions, not words."_

That brought an idea to her head that she rather liked. Her lips turned from a frown to a smug smirk, as she shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave, her hands innocently twining behind her back.

"Well, who am I to argue against a bunch of scaredly cubs when they ask me so nicely to leave them alone." Almost instantly, the laughter died and was replaced by a solemn silence that brought a certain heaviness to the air.

Glancing over her shoulder, Noé could practically feel the intensity coming from the Fanalis at her depreciative comment. Crimson eyes all around glared daggers at her back and some of the younger ones even let out a growl. Her grin widened at now having their undivided attention.

" _You surely know how to cause a scene."_

_What can I say? It's a gift._

Spinning on her heels and masking her ferocity with a coy smile, Noé giggled before taking the few steps back to the Fanalis and standing before the hoard that still scowled down at her. Nonchalantly flipping a few long strands of auburn hair over her shoulder, the smile never disappeared from her lips as she said, "But if that's not the case, well, I'd say proving me wrong would be best, right?"

"Miss Noé, please—"

"You're on!" Both Myron and the scarred, smiling man shouted at full volume, almost making Noé teeter back from her place. The two of them were going at each other wanting to be the one to beat her to a pulp, leaving Noé to whistle in delight at her ploy having worked so easily. Sighing heavily through his nose, Muu ran a hand down his face as she made her way to wait beside him.

Though his expression said he had so much in mind to say, only one word came through. "Why..."

"Well, you said they acknowledge respect and strength." Noé balanced herself on the balls of her feet as she mindlessly examined her nails on one hand while the dispute went on. "I ain't getting the former, but I know I can demonstrate the latter. And since you said only a few of them would respond to taunts, I just took a wild gamble and tossed the dice to land where they might've." A snort left her as she turned to give a sidelong glance to the cub. "Disappointed your sister's so easily swayed?"

"No." Muu sighed again in defeat but the small smile that came afterwards told Noé that perhaps this outcome had been exactly what he predicted. His words only reassured her assumption. "I expected they would." His vibrant red eyes turned down to her then. "Though I think I should've expected you'd resort to this too."

"You agreed that I'm a brat, right?" Though she didn't like admitting to it, she knew how true it was. Which baffled her all the more with how simplistic Muu had been to think she wouldn't do anything she wanted regardless of consequences to get the results she sought. Naive would be the right word. But that would just be adding insult to injury. "Well, if I am, what does that make them?" With a nudge of her chin in their direction, Noé watched as the two continued to argue, not even letting anybody else in on their 'conversation'. When it started to last more than she wanted it to, a groan escaped her and she swatted at Muu's arm before motioning to them with a brandished arm. "Can you do something about them? I kinda want to start fighting soon."

Eyeing the situation briefly, Muu pursed his lips into a taut line before breaking out into a easy-going smile as he approached the hoard. "Alright, Myron, Lo'lo, let's break this up." Nothing.  _What a great captain._  Almost as if hearing her chiding, Muu huffed, never losing his smile as he approached them again, this time grabbing the arm that Lo'lo used to grabbed onto Myron's clothes to lift her clean off of the floor. "You guys, stop—"

Emerald eyes went wide at suddenly seeing Muu fly across the field and hit against the closest wall to them with a heavy  _crack_  as the stone broke to pieces on impact. A crude silence spread for a moment before the Fanalis broke out in concern and rushed to Muu's side. Worrying a little that he might've concussed himself with how seemingly hard Lo'lo inadvertently threw him, Noé flashed ahead of everyone stopping them in their tracks as she bent over the thrashed Fanalis captain.

"Damn cub, why am I the only one that isn't tossing you around like a sack of potatoes?" she muttered under her breath with a taunting chuckle.

He answered with a chuckle of his own at first before turning up to mumble back. "Your promise, Miss Noé."

Waving that away for now, she offered her hand to him which he gladly accepted. Muu hurriedly dusted himself off before turning to his fellow Fanalis with a half-smile. As Noé turned to them, turning her body halfway around, she met the myriad of wary stares directed her way. Flashing in front of them must've freaked them out more than she thought it would.

" _Fanalis seldom dabble with magic, Noé. Much less anything close to Grace of Sunlight's."_

That didn't matter much to her at the moment. Tired of wasting time—playing around or teasing them not included—Noé stood apart from Muu and leered down at the bunch of them. Once she eyed every possible Fanalis to get their attention, her downright irate expression changed at the drop of a hat into a fearless grin as she pointed at all those in the front row.

"So, who's gonna go first?"

When another tirade exploded from her mere question, she sighed having had the inkling that her asking would just ignite that spark anew. The steady footsteps that stopped beside let her turn to Muu who grinned at the rest of his comrades and raised his voice to be heard over the shouting.

"How about I pick and we go on from there?" Hearing this, the Fanalis fought for their captain's attention, and while they fought over that, Noé took the time to stretch her legs and arms as she waited for her opponent to be picked. Muu's crimson gaze fell over his comrades and ultimately came to a halt on someone in particular. "Razul, want to give it a go?"

"Sure would, captain!"

Noé's emerald gaze searched for the origin of that peppy voice that cried out and found a girl of a much shorter stature than herself, blazing red hair long and tied into two low ponytails, and scars jutting from the skin on her chest and face. Though she thought them awful and could imagine the injury that left them painful, Noé knew not to give them a hint of leeway even if she felt bad. A wide spread of disappointed groans washed over the crowd as those that hadn't been chosen stepped out of the bounds of what looked to be the area of the fighting ring. Muu walked over to Razol and got a word in with her, Noé's perked ears catching the exchange briefly.

"Don't underestimate an opponent, Razol. No matter how they may look."

Razol's face shone with the broad smile she gave as she nodded. "Yes!" And with a last encouraging pat on the shoulder to the younger Fanalis, Muu receded with the rest, standing with his sister and Lo'lo. Razol began stretching out her legs beneath her, her red eyes set on Noé as she stood at the ready. "You sure you want to do this, lady?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Razol wasted no time.

As soon as she finished, her legs folded beneath her in a crouch before she launched at Noé. Though too fast to see, Noé felt the change in the air and how it got cut by the mass that traveled through it at such high speeds. Feeling it to her right, Noé raised her arm to the side of her head to take the brunt of the kick Razol sent her way. Though she took it, the impact still lifted her off of her feet out towards the left. Quickly as she could, she caught herself on the beaten dirt, ignoring the numbing pain on her forearm and instead eyeing Razol who stood where she'd been with her leg raised. A ferocious smile came to Razol's lips at finding her still conscious.

"Nice block!"

Noé returned the compliment without a second thought. "Nice kick."

"But, y'know, blocking's not a way to win a fight!" Razol charged again at the same speed but now, a little more prepared for it, Noé managed to see the trace of her trajectory. Her brain worked a mile a second to decipher where she'd attack next and, just a moment before her kick landed, Noé followed the telltale air pressure building around her and ducked. Seizing her chance, Noé charged from her crouch and snatched her by the ankle. Razol let out a shocked yelp, unable to contort in time to avoid being brought down against the ground or block the subsequent kick downward that Noé gave to her breastplate. The forceful hit with the young Fanalis so close to the ground dented it somewhat, but before Noé could strike again, Razol grabbed her ankle from on the ground and twisted it beneath her. Noé caught herself before falling and crouched down as Razol picked herself up and put some distance between them.

A feral smirk spread across Noé's lips at seeing Razol's red eyes narrow and her smile disappear into a taut line. The crimson feathers behind her ear bristled to stand straight against her head as she crouched further down before launching forward. Red eyes widened at the speed she'd rushed with and barely dodged the punch Noé sent. Seeing her reaction, Noé feinted the punch at the last second and instead caught Razol by the shoulder as she moved into her free, expecting hand before bringing her down and kneeing her in the stomach. Warm saliva that Razol spit out at the hit fell onto Noé's skin but it didn't distract her in the least. Taking her staggering in stride, Noé swept Razol's feet from underneath her and knocked her onto her back.

Instantly Razol tried to recover and pick herself up but Noé didn't allow it. Almost as quickly, she crouched over Razol and pinned her down by the neck with her forearm while keeping her legs immobile behind her with one of her legs pinning them both down. Her other free hand pegged one of Razol's arms, and with only one free hand left, the Fanalis tried to pry herself free but couldn't concentrate enough with the force that Noé put on her throat, cutting her airway for the briefest of moments.

"Nuh-uh," Noé said, releasing a little bit of the pressure on Razol's throat. "You move, I cut it again."

"You cheated." Razol's eyes narrowed in a scowl, the corners of her eyes pricking with tears from the forearm on her throat.

The accusations brought a pout on Noé's lips before she clicked her tongue a couple of times. "No, little pup. It's called bluffing. It's not my fault that Fanalis charge in without thinking, believing their strength will be enough. So here's a free lesson for you—" Noé seamlessly pulled away from Razol and as the Fanalis sat up, rubbing at her mildly sore throat, Noé stretched her hand out peacefully with a lopsided smile on her face replacing the pout. Razol took it and once up, Noé kept the hold of her forearm as she shook it in a pseudo handshake. "Learn to think as you fight; don't just rely on your strength. Sure, it's a heck of a thing that not many will be able to beat but I've learn that there's always a bigger fish out there."

Letting out a boisterous laugh that rose from her stomach, Noé smacked Razol's back as they approached the rest of her comrades. "But you really gave me a run for my gold there! I may be just a bit faster than you but you all beat me in brawn 100%; you gave me just the smallest of windows to think of something!"

Returning to the cheery girl she'd shown to be, Razol's broad smile widened with the compliment. "You gonna be training with us, right, lady? Can I fight you again?"

"Sure thing." But her grin become a tight-lipped smile as she turned to the crowd of Fanalis. "That is if I'm allowed here by your friends."

Razol sprinted over to another tall Fanalis, one that, from what Noé caught between their chatting, was named Yaqut and gleefully teased Razol about the match being too short. True. It'd been short. But only because Noé knew that she wouldn't last on a drawn out fight with any Fanalis, period. If they let her train here, she'd definitely be working on longer bouts.

"So!" Her hands clapped together letting silence spread across the ground again. "Who's next?"

"I am." Myron stepped forward and stopped right before Noé, glancing up just a tad bit from the disparity of heights and defiantly laying her hand on her hip. "But I don't want just a mindless brawl. You can use magic, right?"

Noé thought about her answer for a second, one finger scratching at her cheek pensively. Counting Chief as just 'magic' seemed unfair; plus, using even her weapon-equip would be going a little too far for just a spar. As for Grace of Sunlight...well, it technically was magic but one she'd rather just use for flashing around. But wanting to be truthful for once, Noé shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "I suppose so."

"You're a dungeon capturer too, right?" Myron motioned behind her to the crowd and to her brother. "My brother told me while you fought Razol."

"What about it?"

"Fight me with it."

Noé pursed her lips, a frown appearing on her face. "That wouldn't be fair."

"It will be." Lifting her right arm, Myron showed her the metal arm guard on it. At first Noé didn't know what to make of it until she noted the dark energy that slowly crept around the metal.

_A metal vessel?_

" _No."_ Chief's correction was subtle but it gave enough away for her to understand.

Hands on her hips as she bend a bit forward with a thoughtful frown, Noé hummed loudly before springing back up to stand straight without losing the frown. "Even if you have a Household Vessel, it's still a tad unfair, isn't it?"

"No." Alright, Myron was either really stubborn or just that stupid. Knowing she was Muu's sister made Noé think it might be a mix of both. As if tired of arguing back and forth, Myron sighed and readied herself by stepping apart from the crowd. "But I guess if you don't do it willingly, then I'll make you use it."

Turning to the older brother of the stubborn girl in front of her, Noé motioned to Myron with a stunned, wide-eyed stare directed at Muu. "You gonna allow this, cappy?"

"I told her you would refuse." Noé blinked a couple of times at hearing this.  _How?_ But when Muu shrugged his shoulders and smiled it confused her even more. "But she's adamant that she can force you to use your metal vessel."

_She wants me to use it that bad, huh?_

" _Are you going to cave?"_

That depended. Though household vessels were strong themselves, they weren't anything compared to metal vessels. She knew this and being a metal vessel user himself, so did Muu. And Noé had an inkling that Myron knew this too. Which made this all the more interesting to her.

"What are you trying to prove?" The words escaped her in a muttered breath, hidden behind the crooked grin that played itself on her lips.

Tightening the knot on her obi and fixing one of the shoulders of her drape, Noé's knees bent slightly as she took a stance. Myron did as well but as she was about to charge, Noé beat her to the punch and lunged forward. The Fanalis barely caught sight of the motion and dodged out of range of Noé's axe kick, leaping to the side and feeling the sole of Noé's sandals inches from her left arm. Not wanting to give her a moment's reprieve, Noé's foot hardly touched the ground before she sprung forward to roundhouse kick Myron. The Fanalis, though, blocked the kick quickly enough, bringing her arm upward to take the brunt of the kick with practiced ease. Emerald eyes narrowed at recognizing the move but widened almost instantly at noticing the dark energy coating the golden arm guard. Erring on the side of caution, Noé put distance between them and just managed to avoid the shot of Strength magic that Myron fired with a well placed punch in her direction, hitting the wall behind her and demolishing a good chunk of it instead. Though wanting to spare a glance at the type of destructive power she possessed, Myron allowed her little time to as she ravaged through and left no time for her to think or react. Noé couldn't spare a thought to counterattacking when all her mind was on was not getting hit by the magic shots.

That in itself was an arduous task seeing as those damn things were coming almost at a rate comparable to her light arrows.

" _Strength magic manipulates space. Those could very well be traversing through a wormhole created by the magic itself to improve on its speed."_

_They're not._  That was very much clear to Noé. If they were, she wouldn't be able to just barely skid past them. And she knew what Strength magic of that magnitude looked like too—she'd bore witness to it too many times not too— and Myron's didn't hold a candle to that. Not to say that it didn't pose a threat itself, especially with the Fanalis firing with reckless abandon leaving in her wake a trail of shattered wall and upturned ground.

What little train of thought she could muster told her that waiting this out was the best thing to do. Fanalis held small reservoirs of magoi, even smaller than her own, and with how recklessly Myron was shooting her household vessel off, it'd be a matter of time.

Only a matter of—

Not thinking of where she was going, Noé failed to see the pit behind her—one of many Myron dug up with her magic—and stepped on the edge of the loose soil, slipping back and losing her balance. Cursing under her breath and gritting her teeth, her crude attempt to regain her footing wasn't fast enough. It left no room to avoid the shot Myron fired at her with a fierce grin that bared her canines at Noé.

Instincts kicking in, Noé flashed. It meant very little—just enough to move her head out of the way to shirk major damage. Not all of it though.

Taken aback by her disappearance, Myron skidded to a stop and searched about to find Noé appearing to one side. Just as she was about to shoot her household vessel off again, though, she stopped in her tracks as a heaviness that hadn't been there before permeated the air.

Noé stood still; her head pounded faintly, making her eardrums thrum, but what had her attention the most was the slight sting on her cheek and ear, and how her hair fell now freely around her shoulders. Myron's magic—it nicked her even as she flashed away.

" _The sudden clash changed the magic's properties somewhat. It swallowed the light when you flashed and caught you."_

Though reasonable, Chief's words fell on deaf ears. Noé's blood boiled too fiercely through strained veins from some eerie emotion that she couldn't name but felt crawl under her skin. Not helplessness, not even excitement.

What was it?

" **Finally...prey that fights back."**

_Ah...hunger._

Emerald eyes widened for a mere instant before closing as a scoff escaped her lips, turning them into the trifling ghost of a smirk. Blood ablaze, Noé gave no warning as she flashed behind Myron to strike a kick behind her knees, making her fall in front of her. Before the Fanalis could move, Noé jumped and swept a clean strike onto her back, smashing her wholly against the beaten ground and robbing the air from her lungs on impact. Flashing again, she dodged out of the way as Myron shot out to drive her back and give herself time to regain her lost breath. The bewildered gasps and wide-eyed stars behind her turned Myron around to find Noé perched on the far off wall, arm drawn back on a nocked light arrow before setting it free to burst through the air. Myron didn't think of avoiding it and instead shot Strength magic from her household vessel against the arrow.

Magic clashed in an explosive array of black and gold before exploding into a blinding light that threw the Fanalis back. The destruction she'd haphazardly caused cost her the same mistake it had Noé and Myron tripped and fell onto her back, slipping on a pit beneath her feet. Not blinded by her own light, Noé flashed once more high into the sky just above Myron and high enough to fully bask in the rays of the afternoon sun. Drawing her arm back, she let an arrow consolidate into shape and aimed down.

But gathering so much from both her metal vessel and through her seal made her face and throat both burn intensely. And the pain brought a sliver of conscious back.

_I need to hold back._

" **Don't. It's prey."**

_She's a kid._

" **It taunted you. A mere cub believed itself superior to a full grown predator."**

_Hurting her won't prove anything._

" **Making an example of it will put the others in line. It'll gain you respect."**

"Not respect," she muttered under her breathe as her boiling blood began to slow almost to a cold stop. "Fear."

_And I will not give others the very thing I hated the whole of my life._

Haziness cleared from her mind, Noé let her arrow separate and compound into the palms of her hands instead. The two small spheres of shining light glimmered as she reached down to her ankles and instead shaped the light around her feet into oversized talons. Letting gravity take over, Noé dove through the air, letting it blow her loose hair out of her face. In the span of half a second, she landed with heavy crack beneath her and caged Myron's body between her talons, each claw avoiding every and any inch of her skin and only pinning her into the ground. Crouching with the crystalized light still attached to her feet, Noé let her hair obscure her face and briefly glanced up to Myron's face.

Crimson eyes were wide with crystal clear astonishment. With blatant disbelief. With bitter disappointment.

But no tinge fear.

A faint smile curved on her lips. Reaching down to Myron's face, Noé toyingly poked her nose earning a blank and baffled stare from the Fanalis. An airy and relieved chuckle escaped her lips then as she brushed her hair behind her ear, the crimson feathers behind it accommodating themselves against her head peacefully.

"Congratulations," she said softly as she leaned her chin against her knees to look down at Myron. "You won."

Letting the light shatter as she stepped out of it, Noé stumbled back and fell to a seat. While an uproar erupted near her as the Fanalis busied with their comrade's safety, Noé's mind wandered to what just happened seconds before. Disbelief clouded her mind at what she had been ready to do. What she almost did.

Hurting Myron, or any of them for that matter, had never been her goal. This was but child's play to her. Nothing serious. But something about Myron's own ferocity and flagrant ruthlessness ignited something in her core. Something foreign and so familiar.

Her own savagery. An instinct so beaten and flayed into her core that it became innate. The instinct to fight and win.

To kill and survive.

_I became...that child again._

" _I tried to stop you but I couldn't reach you."_ Chief's tone stunned Noé for a moment. It was raw. With panic. With concern.  _"You couldn't hear me."_

What? "But…I heard you."

" _Whatever you heard wasn't me."_

"Miss Noé?"

Jerking out of her sudden stupor and blinking a few times, she turned up to meet crimson eyes, a frown marring the pretty looks of the young cub. Muu stood over her—sheathing his sword that she hadn't noticed he'd drawn—his head obscuring the sun completely from her view and allowing her to see him without trouble.

Thoughtlessly, her lips parted, an apology slipping from them. "I'm...sorry." Confused at her own words, she turned down and thought about what she'd said. No, it felt right to say sorry. "I didn't mean to get so carried away."

"I appreciate the apology." The dirt shifted beneath his feet as he crouched to see eye-to-eye with her. As if he were talking to a child. Odd...but also fitting for how she felt. "It seems you get carried away rather easily."

"Not easily," she deadpanned. "It's just that the certain things that provoke me..."  _Do it to dangerous extremes more often than not._

What he filled her silence with did fall around her general line of thought. "They get to you rather badly, huh?" That she averted her gaze in slight shame of being read so readily gave it away to him. With a nod and a spared glance over his shoulder, Muu turned back to her. More specifically to the small wound Myron had caused. When he tried reaching up to it, though, Noé jerked her head away and glared at him. "I just want to check the injury."

"It's a scratch."

"Not the one on your ear."

Ear? Reaching up herself, she winced at barely touching the outer edge of her right ear. Was...a chunk of it missing? Or was it cut? From merely touching it, she couldn't tell.

Muu pursed his lips as he kept his hands to himself this time around. "You need to get that stitched."

"It'll heal by itself."

"It'll be better if you get it treated though."

Tired of bickering back and forth, Noé stood from the ground and dusted her drape off along with her dress' skirt. "Forget it. I'm leaving anyway."

Though Muu uttered words of shock and disbelief, she didn't put any attention to him. Too tired to flash, she turned and started making her way back the way she'd come from when a shrilled shout stopped her.

"Wait right there!"

Noé spared a glance over her shoulder to see Myron and the rest of the Fanalis standing beside Muu not too far from the steps. Flustered and somewhat peeved, Myron's cheeks were dusted a darker hue than her hair as she shouted her way with an accusing finger pointed at her.

"This wasn't a damn victory!" she cried, anger flushing her face darker and darker the more she spoke. "You held back."

_I didn't want to kill you._  Despite her mouth opening to say those words, Noé stopped herself, still at odds about just what that conversation in her head had been. Instead—and for the first time in awhile—she gave some thought to her words.

"Metal vessel against household vessel was never a fair fight."

"Fine!" The volume of her bellow rivaled that of her foot stomping violently against the ground. "Then next time it'll be no vessels, just a clean fight! And then we'll see who exactly is stronger!"

It took Noé a moment to realize the specific phrase she'd used. At finally noticing it, her brow furrowed in bafflement. "Next time?"

This time, Lo'lo spoke for the rest as he stepped up and pushed his hand down on the head of a sulking Myron. "Guess it won't be such a waste of time to spar against someone like you if that's how you fight."

Yaqut, who stood beside Lo'lo, nodded in agreement. "A bunch of us want a piece of you too. Myself included," he said, pointing a thumb at his own chest. "Don't you dare leave us hanging, you hear?"

"Yeah, so come back again!" Razol perked up, jumping up and down.

Taken aback by how welcoming they were after all that, Noé needed a second to process it all. But before she could, a couple of long strides that skipped steps at a time brought Muu next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get that ear of yours fixed up."

Still trying to figure out how they could be so nonchalant about her obvious vicious fit, much less so accepting about it, made it easy for Muu to take her away from the battlegrounds and to a small room: an infirmary with a window looking out to the grounds they just left. Silent as he gathered what he needed, Noé watched from the window as the Fanalis corp busied themselves with clearing the mess their fighting with her had caused. Even after all that, they appeared so carefree, so content.

Bafflement didn't even begin to scratch the surface of her current state of mind.

"Alright." Cautiously eyeing Muu as he took a seat in front of her right side, Noé watched intently as he lit a candle and passed the slim, threaded needle across the orange flame. The thin metal took on a similar shade for a second before he brought it out of the fire to cool off. Crimson eyes turned to her and he smiled before saying, "Could you hold your hair away?"

Raising an eyebrow as she eyed both the needle and him a couple of times made her scoff. "You seriously think I'm letting anywhere near my ear with that?"

"It'll be quick, I promise."

"Yeah, no. I don't trust your needlework, young lady."

Muu snorted and brushed off the insult like nothing. Noé rolled her eyes at his reaction, getting real sick and tired of how her blase attitude just slid right off of him like water on wax.

"I've done this after battles more times than I care to count," he admitted with a tight-lipped smile. "So, yes, you can trust my needlework."

Thinking long and hard about it for a moment, Noé finally exhaled deeply and groaned before brushing all of her auburn curls away from her right ear and over her left shoulder. With a clear way, Muu scooted closer and first cleaned away the blood with a small, clean rag and water before inserting the needle. The prick that went through her outer ear and the sick feeling of the thread going through as well made her wince and the feathers behind her right ears bristle. Muu curiously eyed the feathers for a second but quickly went back to work.

Wanting to ignoring the disgusting feeling of the sutures, Noé's eyes wandered to the outside where the other Fanalis were. Her mind swam with a lot of questions, most of which didn't she feel like asking, and she most likely wouldn't have asked them had her quandary not been so pressing on her mind. In the end, she caved and asked the most imperative to her.

"How could they let the fact that I tried killing her slip through their minds so easily?"

Muu's fingers stopped for a brief moment before continuing. It might've been too brief for anybody else not to notice but not for her. Wanting to have her answer, she prodded further.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Though her question was one that already had an answer in her mind, she asked it anyway wanting some confirmation from his own mouth. "It's why you accepted my apology, childish as it was. And why you had Barbatos at the ready back there."

_You knew what I intended if only for that split moment._

"You knew I could have killed her."

"But you didn't."

The simple sentence answered nothing and only served to confused her further. "Had I not stopped myself—"

"I would have. They all would have. But you did." Tying off the thread on her ear, he leaned forward and tore the excess off with his teeth. His breath, for that one second, so near to it made her avert her eyes, only slightly moving her head away. It was done with quickly though and he set the needle aside to grab a small, round container. Twisting the cap off and dabbing a couple of his fingers on it, he daubed over the suture with it. At the slight sting it brought on, Noé jerked her head away and glared at him, not so much because of the ointment stinging her but because of his own nonchalantness about the issue.

"You had no way of knowing I would have though." Even now, Noé wasn't so sure herself that she would've stopped had the pain not snapped her out of the hunger for bloodshed that crawled so briefly throughout her entire body. "The things I've done before should have given you an idea of how volatile I am, how fickle I can be." No shame came in admitting any of that. Noé knew her own faults from her meistras having pointed them out so long ago. "Which is why I can't understand for the life of me what makes you so damn trusting."

Now, Muu didn't seem as quiescent as before as he lowered his gaze. "You're not wrong. The few times I've met you, you've done nothing but terrorize others on a whim and disappear just as easily. But I also recently realized that those times—it was almost like you were playing with them. Taunting them. Wanting for them to shun you before they had a chance to form any concrete idea of you."

"You sound like you thought about this too much," she chided.

Scoffing, Muu shrugged his shoulders, tending to the small cut on her cheek by cleaning it and daubing some ointment on it too. "Maybe. But Lady Scheherazade helped me figure out why you—or more precisely, why your words and your actions—appeared so disparate to me."

"She tell you all this?"

"Like I said, I figured it out."

Flinching a bit at the pressure he put when placing a small gauze over the scratch, her fingers reached up to cup her cheek as she shook her head in denial. "Even if you figured whatever you did out, it's strange that you'd just accept it as is and let me get this close to hurting someone dear to you."

"Because I had the notion you wouldn't." His confidence was unmistakable. The small smile he gave her only added to the feeling that sank into her stomach. It sickened her and baffled her all the same. "Because I've seen that even when you say you will, you never hurt anybody."

Emerald eyes widened at hearing such stupid, ignorant, and erroneous words.

"I've killed before…" It wasn't so much a confession as it was a statement of fact, and the thought was so great that it brought her out of her chair. "I've killed people of Reim, of Kou, of Parthevia—people of every nation you can think of. Even those who belonged to none. I've killed men and women alike. All for what I plan to do, what I said I'll accomplish: to clear this world of its weeds. You heard me say this to Scheherazade."

"I did," he agreed with a heavy sigh, his head hanging a bit before he stood up and looked at her in the eye without backing down. "Perhaps I'm wrong to think as I do. Maybe you only held back today out of merit. But you yourself said that Reim is one of the last places you intend to 'clean', isn't it?" Not understanding where he was going with this, Noé nodded slowly. "Then, for now and for as long as that remains true, I guess it's safe to say that you won't hurt anybody here, much less kill them."

"That could easily change," she told him, adamant to veer him in that direction. To make him see she was to be feared. That he needed to be cautious around her. That he shouldn't accept her so haphazardly. "You said so yourself, the things I do, I do them on a whim."

"Then, if those things come to happen, I'll stop you."

_Why are you so damn stubborn about this?_

" _Perhaps…"_ Chief didn't seem to want to finish her sentence but after a deep breath, she did.  _"Perhaps there's something in you...that reminds him of them."_

Noé found no sense in Chief's words.  _Them?_

" _The Fanalis, those he leads. Those he saved from slavery. The ones that everybody, doubtlessly, saw as nothing but monsters—the very thing he knew they weren't."_

Her mind couldn't grasp the stupidity of what Chief said and in her bout of perplexity, she spat out words of frustration.

"Then you'll die a meaningless death just like your foolish ancestor did."

Noé flashed out just as she said that, unable to bear being a second longer in the presence of such an utterly delusional fool who refused to see her for what the threat she really was.


	11. Closed Door, Open Window

**|i.|**

The breeze from the east blew bringing with it the saltiness of the sea that crashed against the cliff beneath Noé. Gentle sunlight bathed her as the sun began to settle across the horizon of the ocean. A shoreline town not far away could be seen from where she sat, their houses specks of color in the distance like sea glass on sand. A breathtaking sight that never in a hundred years she thought she would encounter in this new world.

Suckling noises, gentle and quiet, came to her ears accompanied by Pernadius' breezy laughter. Emerald eyes turned to look at the two people she adored most. Pernadius, clad in much more casual clothes than his usual armor, cooed at the babe he held in his arms as they sucked on his fingers. Her little Elior at barely six months was the brightest little boy. Noé saw nothing of him that didn't resemble her; same auburn curls and bright emerald eyes that shone in the soft light as the sun set. And though some parts of his little body were malformed, compared to how Noé had been when little, these were the least of Elly's ailments. What she felt most conflicted about where the small pair of wings that protruded from his mildly malformed back, the stubs barely growing their feathers out. His the color that hers should have been supposed to be—a deep crimson with no gold to be seen.

Elior, in spite of the circumstances of his birth, displayed his Vastago heritage well. And Noé loved every last tiny part of her infant son.

"He's growing well. Have you had troubles with obtaining anything for him?" Sky blue eyes turned to Noé as Pernadius let Elly suckle on the pads of his calloused fingers.

Meeting his eyes for the briefest of moments, Noé's attention went to her son, reaching over to stroke his dark auburn head. "I haven't. And I have you to thank for that."

Ever since her rescue, Pernadius had been the only one to truly care about her wellbeing. He saw to it that she would be well taken care of in his home and assured her that she would have proper midwives to aid in her labor. His attentiveness astounded her; Noé couldn't begin to fathom what drove him to pay so much attention to her, a complete stranger. More so when it infuriated not only his councilmen but also his wife. Neither of them approved of her stay in the Alexius household and they were quite vocal about their opinions. Though Noé found them petty at first, their animosity soon pricked her to her core when they began directing their slurs to her son. Fortunately, their disdain for her was grounded on the fear of the unknown and Noé used that to her advantage to keep them at bay. She feared, however, that this would only stave them off for so long.

Which was why she thanked Pernadius' conscious choice to take her and Elior out for the day after his return from the frontlines. Seeing as he would be back at Reim for only a few weeks, Noé was enthused to spend some time with him regardless of how little that'd end up being. This little cliff was a beautiful place, according to Pernadius, that he found not long after Reim began to search north for land to expand to. But seeing as it was too far off from the city, it was left alone, it's splendor left untouched by human hands for anybody who came across it to relish on. But not even its brilliance took her mind away from the decision she had made and had yet to divulge to him.

_Now is as good a time as any other._

"Nadi."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember the small forest not far from Reim to the northwest? The one you say you go hunting whenever you want to leave home to be alone?"

"Artemis' Grove, yes," he agreed, reminding Noé of the name of a goddess much renown to protect that forest by the light of the moonlight. "What about it?"

"A small cottage was there. I found it while taking Elly out for fresh air. Well..." Noé knew that she was just beating around the bush, but only because she didn't want to say what she had to. Reim had become a place she felt content at. And in spite of the hostility from a few, most treated her kindly. And kindness was something greatly underappreciated by many. It pained her to have to leave but as things stood, Noé felt it safer for her son if they distanced themselves from those who could not see eye-to-eye with her.

Or more to the point, with what she was.

"I restored it. Finished it just a week ago."

An idea seemed to revolve in Pernadius' mind, his sky blue eyes searching her emerald for what her words could possibly mean. It took him much less time than Noé expected it to. Almost instantly, she noticed the glint of his eyes disappear as he narrowed his eyes on her, brow furrowed in more concern than perplexity.

"You're leaving?"

"I have to." Reaching over to him, Noé didn't bother asking and took her boy back into her arms. Elior, restless at first at being taken away, relaxed realizing he was back against his mother's bosom. Noé held onto him tightly, resting his head against the crook of her neck with one hand while carding through his downish chick feathers gently with her fingers. "Though I'm sure I can protect us, I can't always assure that I'll be by Elly's side to do so. And I won't risk him for anything in the world."

"Noé, the palace is safe. There's nothing for you to be afraid of hurting Elly even if you're not there."

Noé could tell, even as he said this and from the way his brow creased down, that not even Pernadius believed his own words. After all, he knew his people, his own family and exactly how vicious they could be. Diana most of all now that she was with child as well. And Noé understood the banshee in some strange way. As a mother herself, she understood that her children would always come first regardless of everything else in the world.

"No, Nadi, it's not. And you know that." The soft breathing coming from her side told her little Elly had dozed off finally. He seemed to like having his feathers struck; it put him at ease. Something that she would never be able to feel with her own wing.

"I could talk to them. Make it so maybe life will be easier."

"It won't last long if you do." Slowly and carefully standing from her sit to keep from rousing Elior, Noé stumbled a bit on her feet with Pernadius quickly rising to his to catch them if she fell. Standing on her own just fine after regaining her balance though, Noé shared with him a reassuring smile. "And you don't have to try so hard. It's not like we're leaving Reim for good; we're not even that far from the city. You know Artie's Grove well enough to know that. And there, we'll be safe, especially with Scheherazade having offered to place a spell around the cottage too. For extra protection, she said."

That didn't convince Pernadius, his lips drawn tautly as thoughts ran through his head. But Noé's mind was set and nothing he could think of could change it. Knowing that, she started heading out to the small trail that would take them back to Reim's outskirts finding it time to put Elly to sleep.

"Then stay with me and I'll keep you safe."

The words struck her like lightning and halted her feet in their tracks. Chief wasted no time in intervening, the warmth from the arrowhead on her bosom touching Elior and making him stir in his peaceful sleep.

" _Noé, don't."_

_You don't have to tell me._

Tempting as it was, Noé couldn't let herself be swayed by such prospect. In another time or life, perhaps Noé would have found herself accepting if only for however long his life would last. But now, she had another that needed her. Not to mention that he was a mere human. Between him and a Vastago—even a defective one like her—she knew that there was no contest to be had. Whatever he could provide, so could she.  _Definitely no contest at all._

Sparing a glance over her shoulder and simply giving him a glum smile turned his expecting expression morose as he stood defeated.

"We both have those who need and depend on us. They come before everything else. Even ourselves."

Taking a deep breath to let what Noé said settle in his head, the sullenness vanished after a moment and was replaced by a mockery of a smile. It held no candle to the brilliance of others. Resigning herself to her choice, Noé found no remorse in it. For Elior, she would abandon the world if that's what it took to keep him safe and happy.

Giving Pernadius her back, Noé made her way back towards Reim, pained but not stopping when she didn't hear him follow.

* * *

**|ii.|**

Deafening as the cheers of the crowd were, Noé cringed knowing full well that none of them were directed at her. It was obvious to anybody looking down at them from above that they were all applauding Alibaba who stood opposite of her in the colosseum arena, obviously perplexed at how they manage to arrive at such lengths. Not taken aback in the least, Noé simply tapped the toes of her sandals against the ground while eyeing her 'opponent'.

" _I still don't regard this as anything remotely close to a good idea."_

Dismissing Chief's concern with a roll of her eyes was all Noé could do that wouldn't give away the fact that she hadn't in fact taken her metal vessel into the arena. It wasn't to cheat, per se; she just didn't feel like being separated from her djinn anymore. The last time had been enough to last her a lifetime—perhaps an exaggeration on her part. It'd be more like a couple hundreds years or so before she did that again for sure, though.

_You'll see the brilliance of it, Chief. Promise._

" _Highly doubt that."_ Chief hummed deep in her throat, blatantly unamused by her confidence in an idea she had concocted but a few hours ago.

— **{ii}—**

"A match? Against you?!"

Noé beamed the brightest of smiles at Alibaba, the cheekiness of it tugging at the corners and threatening to turn it into a smirk. "Yeah! Isn't it exciting?"

"W-Well," Alibaba sidestepped from the large sabertooth that made its way across the room they were in, "I don't know if exciting is the word I'd use, exactly."

Though Noé was rather comfortable in this cramped space, the same couldn't be said about Alibaba seeing as he stood in the midst of the makeshift pen that a vacant room in the colosseum made for her sabertooths. Having won them in her first match there but having no proper place to keep them, Noé got permission somehow to harbor them there while she found a spot to settle them in. Good thing too because the sabertooth tigers that were spared had been but whelps. Though Alibaba, when told this, had a hard time believing her, Noé assured him that the four of them were indeed just tiger cubs. Sure, they were ridiculously big whelps but whelps all the same. And as such they weren't really bad just playful; they only needed some good guidance and someone that didn't treat them like garbage like the ringleaders of the colosseum did with their so-called beasts.

But before she could properly train them, Noé knew she'd had to get their respect. And she knew no better way to tame a beast than to treat it with kindness. So the week Alibaba spent recovering and even during the last week of their first lessons with Shambal, she spent treating the poor kittens to the spa of a lifetime. Though it certainly ended up taking longer than a couple of weeks with how stubborn they were about it. Thankfully, only the smallest was left and that gave her some leverage to work with.

"How—Skata, stay!—how come?" Struggling somewhat with the youngest cub of the litter, coincidentally the only boy, Noé patted its head down as she attempted to file the large feline's claws down a little. Alibaba couldn't peel his amber eyes away from the tiger that complied with Noé's curt command, its head lowering to the other side and letting her peacefully file its paw.

"Not to sound rude but Noé-san is kind of intimidating."

Appreciating his honesty, she nodded in agreement, the movement catching Skata's attention enough for him to lick at the back of her bobbing head. "Good thing you realized that! Shows that you've got a good survival instinct in your little blond head. But you shouldn't let that discourage you from trying!"

"No, it's actually more discouraging with what you just said," he responded, finding it hard to believe that she couldn't quite grasp his predicament.

"But you got what old man Shambal said, didn't you?"

Alibaba couldn't do much more than nod in response to that question. She knew they both had. During the last week that they had trained together in magoi manipulation with Shambal, they learned a bunch of stuff that, although not new to Noé in concept, was fairly modern where actual application was concerned. Alibaba had struggled at first like her but somehow got a hold of the technique faster than he should've. It peeved Noé that in spite of the countless years she'd roamed the world that she couldn't master one measly little skill. But Shambal instantly saw why with a prompt look at the flow running through her body. Tumultuous. Like a tornado ravaging through a field at a painstakingly slow pace. Noé certainly felt that anytime she tried handling it in any kind of way. Shambal said that as it was, it could take her considerably longer to master the art. And though Noé couldn't think of any particular reason why, aside from her seal, but the old man, true to his expertise, had a couple of plausible explanations.

Magoi could be affected by a large breadth of things.  _"Most commonly,"_  he told them both,  _"it's a gradual change that happens as one grows, the ki—or in your case, magoi's constitution is different for every human at different stages of their life, so as it changes it can clash against its own kind. Though rare, fusion of differing kinds of magoi can also disrupt its normal flow. And also, if the mind and heart are plagued with jarring negative emotions such as extreme hatred, pain, or remorse, it could also drastically change its characteristics."_

None of those sounded right to her. First off, though still growing, she was way past her fledgling years as it was. There wasn't any other kind of magoi in her aside from her own and whatever rukh Grace of Sunlight sucked in, and even that didn't really matter since it only brought compatible magoi to hers into her body. As for negative emotions… Noé knew well enough what falling into depravity looked like and no way in hell was she gonna let that happen to her. All things considered though, she couldn't deny that there wasn't something heavy stirring within her. And whatever it was disrupted her focus for learning this damn thing.

" _What can I do about it then?"_

" _Perhaps control through force might be a way to help you control it."_

Control through force. Though he didn't explicitly say anything regarding it, Noé could make her own ideas about what his words meant. And fighting under pressure was one thing she was damn good at doing. And though the control part escaped her for a few days, deliberating it with Ezio and Cy gave her some insight on what it could mean.  _"An unruly force has no set route to follow—it is what makes it wayward. But if presented with another that was similarly unfettered but is now restrained, yours could possibly find a frame of reference to base itself on."_

Decoding that whole gibberish gave her the idea she held now. Fighting against one who had a similar problem to hers. In other words, Alibaba Saluja. Though his problem wasn't exactly like her own, it was close enough to work as reference. And that was good enough for her.

— **{ii}—**

Noé traced paths on the sand beneath her feet as they waited for the announcing to commence. It had been an out of the blue request for Shambal by his look of bewilderment, but one he welcomed with a boisterous laugh and open arms. With a couple of weeks of training under their belts, regardless of their individual progress, he wished to see what it could do in battle. So he agreed, stipulating one rule and one rule alone.

Use only magoi manipulation. That meant no djinn weapon-equip from either of them and no magic casting for her. Noé agreed without a second thought. Alibaba had hesitated slightly before agreeing in the end.

Now in the midst of the roaring crowd and the announcement of their names as they stood in the middle of the heated arena, Noé danced from one feet to the other excitedly at the prospect of her fight against Alibaba. She had seen him in battle only a few handful of times. Never put any actual attention to him though. It would be a new experience for her to fight the gold-headed boy and she relished in new experiences.

"Ready?" Noé adjusted the quiver of arrows that hung by her hips, her arms stretching as she strung the bow in her hands. Recurved bow and daggers had worked last time—and no point fixing what wasn't broken—so she went with it. Alibaba went with a simple sword, one with a longer reach than his metal vessel. But for what it was worth, it'd have to do.

Alibaba chuckled, the nervousness clear in the slight quiver of his voice. "I suppose so."

"Come on," she said playfully tossing one of her own daggers from one hand to the other, "This is really for my benefit, so don't worry about getting too hurt. You know I need you alive, right?"

"Comforting." The meekness that he posed before suddenly vanished as he took his stance, one arm tucked behind a straight back. Those wayward eyes focused on her as a smile played on his lips. "But I'm taking this seriously, Noé-san. You're not the only one learning to better themselves. So I'll be in your care."

His ferocity ignited her own and a feral grin came across her face as she took a firmer grip on the dagger. "Same kid." Without warning, Noé dashed in, lowering herself as close to the floor as she could.

_Let's test these waters, shall we?_

Bringing the dagger up, her emerald eyes watched carefully as Alibaba brought his sword in place to parry her blow. It was swift and without hesitation. Practiced. He knew what he was doing. Noé's grin widened as she leaped back to charge at him again. Raining down blow after blow, Alibaba expertly parried most and only dodging out of the way of a few. Noé was no swordswoman, but she knew a damn good one when she saw one. And that, accompanied with his young age, astounded her.

"You're pretty good, Ali!"

"Thank you!" Parrying her last attack, he deftly took a step forward quick enough to disarm her of the dainty dagger. It went spiraling off into the air and too caught up to not be in its trajectory when it landed, Noé only stepped back away from his sword when she felt it nick at her arm. It shouldn't have hit, it shouldn't have even touched her, but the split glimpse she caught of his blade told her why it had. Coating the edge of the blade was a thin line of magoi, sharper than any steel.

Her grin widened as she skidded to one side, his gall feuling her own as she felt the bit of warm blood trickling a little from the cut. "Cheeky, aintcha?

Alibaba adjusted his hand around the handle of his sword, his grip turning white. "I told you I was serious about it."

"Alright then." Taking her bow and an arrow in hand, Noé put it in place and held the weapon leveled at her hips.  _Let's give it a try._

" _Concentrate but don't think about it too much."_  Though contradictive, Noé now understood a little bit more about what made that good advice. Magoi wasn't something tangible that could be controlled entirely. What they meant by control was more along the lines of guidance. But that persuasion couldn't be too forced or otherwise it'd go haywire on its own. A fine line between control and guidance, Noé thought of it more like coaxing it.

" _Rukh are sentient, my little sparrow."_  Her meistras kind words came to mind, her slender fingers caressing the air where she could see those tantalizing birds that Noé couldn't.  _"They are fickle in their emotions but to those it gives its love, it does so unconditionally. And to those it does listen to it is because they hold the rukh in high regards, not as an object of power but as the lifeform they are."_

_I know you're there. I know it's gotta be quite noisy inside me, but if you could, would you mind just...listening? Just for a little bit._

It felt odd how the flow through her body listened for once. Even stranger that Noé could tell that it was just the slightest of changes. Like pricking a finger to let the smallest drops of blood through the punctured skin. But that little bit of magoi was as much as she could control, lining the edges of her arrows with it.

Not wanting to lose her concentration, Noé sprung forward, hand laying still on her nocked arrow and bow as she charged at Alibaba. Said boy stood at the ready with his blade held to the level of his chest, amber eyes narrowed to watch her movements. Moving deftly through his field of vision, she took a step forward into his line of attack without regards. Alibaba took the chance to attack, springing with his left foot forward in a clear stab. But not quickly enough. The brief moment before his lurch gave Noé enough time to read his attack and sidestep to bring her bow and arrow aloft, already strung back taut. Letting it fly so close to his face, Alibaba had no chance to avoid it but tried anyway. Missing the shoulder with which he held his sword, the arrowhead struck at his healed arm. Blood trickled down his fair skin and tan clothes, marring them a stark crimson. His hand flew to the arrow to tear it off but at yanking, Alibaba grimaced when it wouldn't dislodge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Amber eyes whirled to her smug smirk and strayed to the new arrow she held in her hands. Though faint, he could see the bright golden line coating the edges of the head and how it filed into small hooks in a line. "It'll only make it worse."

"You figured it out?" he asked, opting instead to break off the rest of the arrow to free his movements as much as possible.

"Somewhat." Noé nudged at his sword, the more than obvious line coating the whole of the blade and shining in the morning sun. "Still not as much as you though."

"Enough, I'd say." Ailaba lifted his sword once more to take his stance but Noé could see his arm tremble from time to time from the injury.

" _You're cruel."_

_Hey, I aimed at his shoulder, okay? It's technically his fault for dodging._

Regardless of that, she was almost certain what being lenient with him would accomplish. And she didn't want to be looking down on him. Alibaba wanted to improve. And scorning him like that would not do him any good.

"Let's put some more back into it then!"

Noé shot away with reckless abandon at Alibaba who could do nothing aside from dodge at the distance she put him at. The only times she darted forward to parry with him and recover her arrows didn't give him much time to attack either. Speed being her forte helped this time to worm her way in and out to keep volleying him with coated arrows. But as she sprung forward once more to recover them, Alibaba beat her to the punch and lurched at her with his blade leading. Skidding to one side, Noé failed to notice his faint or the way the hand behind his back struck from hiding with the blade she'd lost before. Too busy worrying about which to avoid, she stepped back only to fall for both feints as Alibaba sunk to the floor to swipe her legs from underneath her. Without hesitation, he raised the dagger and swung it down with force into the drape and through the ground to pin her in place.

But just then a shrill cry escaped her lips as the blade caught more than just her clothes. Through the blade, Noé's frantic mind realized the scarlet seeping through.

" _Noé—"_

"N-Noé-san!?"

"Stay away!" Her voice quivered, the pain running along her spine too much to keep reined. If he came any closer, she couldn't assure herself she wouldn't mindlessly attack. Rules be damned. This pain—this kind of harrowing, spine-splitting hurt—bled her brain dry of any rational thought. But she knew not to lash out at him. Alibaba didn't know any better.

_**For his sake, that better be the true.** _

Shaking the sordid thoughts away, Noé's shaky fingers curled around the hilt of the dagger, her knuckles a ghastly white as they tightened around it. But even being as careful still sent the strike of electricity up her spine that throbbed at her head.

"Noé-san." His voice quieted to the back of her mind with the pain taking the spotlight. It only dawned on her that he was too close when she felt his presence behind her. And with the pain throbbing at her wing, Noé reacted on instinct.

Alibaba yelped astounded by her clutching down onto the front of his clothes to bring him closer. But before she could do anything stupid and that she'd most likely regret, Noé shouted at the top of her lungs, her intent clear from the sheer volume of it.

" **I forfeit!"**

The whole colosseum fell deadly silent at her declaration. Not caring about it, she forcefully shoved him away from her before turning to the dagger still pinning her wing to the ground like some sick display. Grinding her teeth to keep from screaming only let a forced grunt out as she yanked the dagger to throw it aside. Thankfully, there wasn't a chance for anybody to hear that with the whole of the crowd jeering at her for what she said. Noé couldn't have cared less though as she picked her limp wing, drape and all, in her arms and stood to leave. A couple of the guards situated at the exits tried stopping her— **bad idea** —but before she could bite their heads off, Alibaba stepped in, telling them to let her pass. If his warning didn't do the job, then the scowl Noé had surely did. They let her pass without another word to leave the rowdy crowd behind her.

— **{ii}—**

"I'm so—"

"If you say you're sorry one more time, I'll sic my tigers on you."

Alibaba froze at the threat, eyeing the said sabertooths that lazily lounged on the other end of the room. Though he had his back to her as she requested, Noé could still feel how he oozed remorse and concern. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, that much was clear, but he had. And she wanted to hurt him bad for that. But Noé held herself back, not wanting to do that to the boy. Alibaba, for as much of a mess as he was, was a good kid. And he didn't deserve to die at the ripe age of sixteen because she couldn't keep her temper in check.

**He hurt you.**

"...he didn't mean to."

"Noé-san?"

"You didn't hurt me that bad." A lie but without him looking at her it was easy to keep that underwraps. "Just got my thigh is all." A plausible lie since her leg had ended up hidden behind her when she fell back.

"Then the forfeit?"

"I didn't feel like fighting without giving it my all." Hidden by her drape, Noé took a gander at her wing. The damage wasn't that bad now that she looked at it. The blade pierced the tip of it, the blood matting the feathers together to a smooth end. Parting through them, she saw the blade's path—a thorough hole, end to end.  _That'll need stitches._  "You're trying to better yourself and I should be a good adult and help."

"What about you?"

"Learning under old man Shambal is good enough. Plus, fighting you let me in a little on how to properly manipulate magoi."

"You mean the tips of the arrowheads."

"Precisely."

Noé listened to his shuffling feet behind her. "At least one of us is getting somewhere then."

The dejected way he said that caught her attention. Turning to peer at him over her shoulder, her emerald eyes fixated on the back of his golden head. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" The hefty sigh he let out slumped his shoulders and his head hung for a good minute before he continued. "For as much as I'm progressing with magoi manipulation, I'm still no good with djinn equipping."

Emerald eyes blinked owlishly at his confession. "You can't...djinn equip?"

Spotting the red tint on the tip of his ears, she could guess that this was quite embarrassing for him to admit too. Alibaba rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before saying, "I came here because I was told that the Shambal could help me with the irregularity of my magoi. And that once that was fixed, I could properly work on my djinn equip. But...it's fixed and I'm still having trouble with it."

_So that's why he's really here._  Somebody should've taught him patience though because djinn equipping was an odd subject. She knew that depending on what sort of person they were, it could come as easy as breathing while others would have to struggle months or even years to get it. Directionless anyway. But someone with boundless knowledge on the subject could lessen that time greatly. Even for someone as pessimistic as Alibaba.

"Then I'll teach you."

Hiding her wing from view as a ruckus blew out behind her, Noé turned halfway on her chair to find Alibaba standing with the stool strewn beneath him and amber eyes wide as saucers. Stuttering unintelligibly, Noé felt her smile widen at how adorable he was.

" _Are you sure about this?"_ Chief's question carried with it some sense of warning. One that she disregarded.  _"You'll be here longer if you anchor him to you."_

_I owe the kid after the spook I gave him. Besides, it won't be long with how I teach things._

Chief's somber tone flipped as a low, mischievous chuckle rumbled through Noé's mind.  _"You might be correct for once on something."_

"You? Teach me?"

"Don't think I can?" One eyebrow raised was enough to send Alibaba into a mess of stutters.

Soon enough he managed to recover and after a bit of thought, smiled with a nod. "If you'll take me then."

"Great," she mused, eyes bright and smile wide. Leaving settling things for another day, Alibaba dismissed himself and left quickly thereafter with a glint in his eyes shining with prospect. It was clear as day that he wanted to learn. And if he was willing to, she'd be willing to provide a way.

_Besides, how can I say no to little princas' king candidate?_

" _You're doing it for him?"_

"For both, Chief. They're good kids." Better than any other king candidates she'd met over the years.

Taking her wing in her arms, Noé ambled over to the nearest table where she kept the medical supplies. Thread in hand and wound cleaned up, she busied herself with stitching it, but at doing so, her mind wandered to a similar scene only a few weeks old now. The thought of Muu and the other Fanalis overcame her mind and she reached up to caress the healed cut on the edge of her right ear. A sick feeling sunk in her stomach and a grimace settled on her lips as she set it aside to mend the tip of her wing. As she sat in a blissful silence sometimes interrupted by the playful chuffing of the sabertooths, Chief butted in, her voice calm and collected to not rile her further.

" _I didn't intend to ask but I must admit that I am curious. Why have you refused to return?"_

"They freaked me out."

" _How?"_

Plenty of ways. What stuck out most to her was their blatant disregard for the danger she posed. Noé simply couldn't understand how blind they could be to not see what her happy-go-luckiness hid. Many others had found something wrong with her vivaciousness through the years. Uneasiness, fear, and alarm were the ones most tangible and she counted that as a blessing. That kind of apprehension kept them on their toes, it kept them at bay, and it kept them as far away from her as possible.

But the red lions weren't deterred. In fact, Noé felt almost too welcomed and that sickened her. It knotted her stomach and tightened her chest making it harder to breathe at the mere thought of it.

_You did this to me._

Chief said nothing, thinking silence would save her the lecture. It wouldn't.

"You and your damn conclave."

" _It was a matter of survival."_

"No, it was a matter of injecting so much hatred and bigotry into us that we wouldn't question anything. Not even killing each other."

" **Children. So susceptible. So compliant."**

Yanking the thread off after finishing made Noé flinch but even that felt better than the rage that started to boil in her. Not wanting for it to overtake her like it usually did, she gently set her wing behind her, the burden of it weighing her back to sitting straight. Picking up the drape, Noé busied herself with mending the tear which was much easier than mending flesh on a wing. Within minutes she was done and wore the drape properly for once, the ribbons of the obi tied dully to keep it from opening.

Just as she finished tying the silk around her hips, a large head bumped into her arm and made her turn down to meet the large eyes of the young whelp. Chuckling, Noé stroke Skata's head and the rest, seeing it safe to approach her, joined in. It struck her as fitting that she welcomed comfort more from animals more than from humans. Animals didn't lie. They lived on instinct and with purpose. In those regards, they were a whole lot better to be around than people. Coveting some kind of warmth, Noé laid back against Skata as the large whelp laid and curled around her. The other three kittens were about to join when their growling took her by surprise. Opening her eyes and peering towards the entrance of their room, Noé groaned deep in her throat at seeing the mane of red that meandered towards their little alcove.

_Why the hell can't I be left alone when I want to be?_

The minute he stepped into the dim light from the torches perched onto the walls of their room, Noé let out a grumble without restraint.

"Leave."

Muu didn't heed her words. Like he hadn't even heard her. But he had. Noé knew just from the way his lips curved up slightly into a small smile. "I was worried when I saw what happened."

"Of course you were," Noé distracted herself and kept from raising her voice by carding her fingers through Skata's fur. The tiger chuffed, leaning his head into her hand but his eyes never left Muu as if warning him to stay where he stood. "Had to make sure I wouldn't kill anybody, after all."

"I was worried about you, actually."

Her chest tightened and a snarl formed on her lips. "Do me a favor and don't lie to my face."

"I'm not."

Skata growled deep in his throat, his whole body rumbling under her hand as his sisters joined him. Emerald eyes lifted from her tiger to watch as Muu took a few steps closer to her. Eyeing the three sisters approaching from the other side of the room, Noé snapped her head at them, barking at them with the pent up ire in her. "Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos; down." Their snarling stopped briefly as all three focused on her. With a clear motion of her hand to emphasize her words, all three lowered to the ground completely but slowly while keeping their eyes trained on Muu. Skata was the only one she allowed to growl as Muu kept an eye on the tigresses before turning to her.

"They've been asking about you, you know."

Her eyes went askance, instantly recognizing what he was talking about. "Been busy."

"By the looks of it, you have." Muu dropped down to a seat on the barren ground to which Noé quite noticeably groaned at yet again. "And you don't quite seem happy to see me here."

"Quite frankly, no, I'm not." Not meeting his gaze, Noé chose one spot on the broken wall across from her to focus on as she continued. "But while I'm  _being_  frank about things, you sicken me."

She almost heard how the air left him as if he'd been punched in the gut by one of his own. "...what?"

"I can't understand how you neglect the safety of your kind, or how they disregard their own safety by all means, just because they think I'm strong or worth keeping around. I'm dangerous; you might not see that and I might not look it, but I am. And the sooner you accept that, the easier it'll be for everybody."  _Especially for you._

" _Noé...don't do this again…"_

_I don't know what you're talking about._

But she did. She knew exactly what Chief was talking about. Feeling welcomed here or anywhere else wasn't something Noé wanted. She didn't want to feel like part of anything or anybody. She never again wanted to have everything and have it stab her in the back, or worse...lose it. It happened too many times to count and she still refused to learn the lesson. Not this time. This time, Noé wouldn't let it catch her off guard. This time, she would keep them as far away as possible to not risk suffering like that again.

Muu's calloused fingers drummed against his thigh as he sat pensively staring at the ground. From the corner of her eyes, she saw those crimson eyes turn soft for a moment before a smile spread across his face.

"I find the best of people often degrade their own worth the most."

_How is he so damn positive?_

"Not me."

"Lady Scheherazade doesn't think that."

"She doesn't say it," Noé corrected him, finally turning to meet his gaze. "She definitely thinks it. No doubt in my mind about it."

"The boy from the lab, Maahes—"

"An orphan boy I picked up along the way. Nothing more than a stray pup."

"The other Fanalis—"

"They barely know me."

"I—"

"And you're a nosy little cub who should learn when he's stepping over the line." Her deadpan finally shut him up and he pursed his lips into a taut line. Tired of the argument, Noé scowled at him, her eyes turning dark as they narrowed on him. "Besides, you have no reason to care. Not about what happens to me or what I do. My business is mine to mind as is yours to you. So do me a favor and stop sticking your damn nose where it doesn't belong and where I don't want it. And I suggest you do that fast before I decide to bump Reim up on my list. Starting with Scheherazade."

That struck a chord. Hard. Muu sprung from his seat faster than she could see. And though it was expected, Noé couldn't have prepared for the glare he sent her way. Crimson eyes threatened her with a mere glance and the gentle facade he wore melted away letting the ferocity of the Fanalis shine through.  _That's it_ , she thought feeling something rip within her as a tinge of remorse fell into her stomach like a ton of lead,  _that's exactly what you should've done from the beginning._

"You were right." His voice dropped to a baneful octave, those red eyes drawn exotically by their markings doing their job of making how they narrowed on her look all the more menacing. "I thought I could at least change your mind, make you see that you just need some help to find the best in you and abandon this insane pursuit of yours. So you could make peace with Lady Scheherazade and at least sustain a normal conversation together with her. Maybe even rekindle the old friendship she speaks so fondly of. But I was wrong to think that. "

"Had you listened to me before, you would've saved yourself time—"

"But you know what the saddest thing is? That you can't accept your vulnerability like she does. She knows it exists and at least allows others close to her to stand beside her when she needs them—she knows she's only human regardless of what she is. But you?" His narrowed eyes softened then and the ire from before that fueled his tirade changed to something she hated even more: pity. "From just listening you spit out the same backward ideas, I can tell you don't want to let anybody near you because it'll be troublesome. You'd rather be safely alone than take the risk of letting others close to you—

And it saddens me because I don't think you're as bad a person as you think you are, Miss Noé. But I realize now that no matter what I or anybody say, you won't ever notice what you don't want to see."

With those morose words left in the air, he left, his heavy footsteps echoing through the stone walls of the room. But after he was long gone, Noé still heard his words, repeating and echoing in her head endlessly on loop. They struck her like knives with each repetition, each assertion twisting the blade deeper and deeper into her chest and tightening her throat shut. It wasn't like she had any retort to his words. From just hearing them, Noé garnered the same thing she had from what many others before him had said. All different words said in different ways, but always with the same underlying message.

Noé wasn't alone because it was safer. She was alone because it was easier.

They couldn't hurt her if she didn't care about them to begin with. Coincidentally enough, a lesson that although consecrated on the very soil of Reim, was one she learned long before her time there. Even still, Noé couldn't help the painful stinging that came to her eyes as warm tears spilled over to roll down her cheeks. Hiding her face into her arms, she sobbed into them, quietly at first then louder and louder until she could feel her throat burn from it.

_But just because it's easier doesn't make it any less lonely._

* * *

**|i.|**

Festive lights broke through the dark of the night like thousands upon thousands of fireflies that illuminated their revelries. Many drank themselves beyond consciousness while others ate their fill of the delicacies scattered about. Vivacious music rung about loudly, her ears catching every bit of laughter that sprung from the crowd with bits of conversation scattered here and there. Nothing intelligible, though she didn't listen to gossip. Noé viewed and overheard the festivities to have a taste of their carefreeness and happiness without having to be a part of it.

A habit that was hard to break, this one. And it wasn't hard to see why when her aunt had so painstakingly engraved it with every punishment she dealt.

_Always apart from but never a part of._

"Hello, little sparrow."

Noé jumped in her skin at the sweet, silken voice of her meistras, and her emerald eyes darted upwards to meet hers. The woman smiled, hair spilling over one shoulder as she bent forward to meet Noé's gaze. "M-Meistras? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be down there with everybody else?"

A low sigh came through her nose as her eyes wandered from the festivities back to her. "It is tiring after some time to be surrounded by so many other people. Sometimes one has to take their time to breathe by themselves." Motioning down to the perch Noé sat on, she said, "Is this seat occupied?"

Though she mumbled incoherently at first, Noé shook her head as she scooted over despite there already being more than enough space for her meistras to take. Not minding her muttering, the tall woman took a seat beside her, smoothing her skirts before staring off into the crowd below their shared perch. She leaned to the side then, tilting her head Noé's way to say, "I would ask you whether you're here doing the same as I, but I already know you haven't gone once down there to celebrate with them. May I ask why that is?"

Blinking away the lights that flooded the night around them, Noé lifted one of her feet to rest her chin on her knee while keeping an eye on the festivities below. "I'm not too wild about celebrations. Or maybe saying I'm not too keen on being around others would be more accurate."

Her meistras hummed, not needing to ask any further questions to comprehend what she meant to say. Allowing themselves to watch in silence for a moment, she took a deep breath to prepare to say something.

"I know how it can be to look across what you thought was an unending ocean to find land you haven't seen before. Especially how overwhelmingly exciting...and  _frightening_  it can be in equal measures when all you have known is nothing but the solitary island you have been stranded on for the whole of your life."

Reaching for her other leg, Noé brought them both closer to her chest to bury her face on them. Anything to avoid seeing what she had so desperately wanted all her life to have only to be too afraid to cease it now that it was right in front of her eyes. The soothing touch of her meistras hand stroking circles across her back eased enough of that uneasiness to let her speak between broken sobs.

"I can't do this, meistras. I don't think I can do this again." Her chest hurt with every breath she took and her sobbing suddenly turning more forcible only made each one that much more painful. "W-What if they're just like Theone and mother? What if once I'm not needed they'll just throw me away too?" Short auburn waves bounced with the shaking of her head, the strands brushing back and forth across her shoulders. "I can't. I don't want to hurt like that again."

_I don't want to be abandoned._

"My sweet Noé." Hearing the way she said those words, so serenely and comfortingly, made Noé lift her teary eyed gaze to meet with hers. Her eyes showed the same kind of solace her words and smile offered as she reached down to take one of Noé's hands into her own and held it tenderly in hers. "I think the better question you should be asking yourself is—"

"What if they're not?"

* * *

**|ii.|**

Noé laid sprawled atop Skata, the tiger whelp standing in place as his owner groaned and buried her face into the back of his neck to muffle the sound of it. Each subsequent whine became louder and louder until Chief sighed at the back of her head.

" _I know I'll regret asking this but...what's wrong now?"_

"I don't want to do this."

" _Why are you here then?"_

"Because I want to do this."

Incomprehensible grumbling ensued, Chief's irritation more than palpable from the growing ache at the back of Noé's head.  _"Contradictory as you may be about it, this is by far the one thing I can agree is smart on your part."_

"Thanks."

" _That being said, I'm also inclined to tell you that you're doing it in the stupidest way possible."_

"You are simply the best motivational being ever. Have I ever told you that?"

" _Plenty of times. Now—"_  Chief took a deep breath to settle her thoughts before continuing, _"Get over yourself and go already!"_

Though she agreed with Chief, Noé just couldn't bring herself to do it—there was no way to casually walk into those barracks where the Fanalis corp was like nothing had happened.  _Like I didn't get their leader pissed off enough to hate me._ Another week had gone by after that whole little debacle with Muu and during those seven days, Noé couldn't deny the fact that she had been miserable. Any place that reminded her even the slightest of him brought back just how awfully she had been to him; the fact she was staying at his place made it all the worse. Despite everything that she said, Noé knew the red lion cub to be a decent person; for all she knew he was really just trying to help her. She hadn't meant to be so harsh. But the self-sabotaging piece of garbage she was, she'd gone and done exactly that. Seven days was a long time to think about things and Noé came to the conclusion halfway through them that perhaps she had messed up.  _Big time._

That small ember of remorse burned more and more, and within a few days was stoked into a mighty flame that didn't leave her in peace. And she knew why. For as much as she knew it saved her a world of pain, Noé grew tired of being alone. Of being rejected by the world. Being intimidated by the complete opposite of that made her act on instinct, and it just happened that self-sabotage, anger, and spite were a big part of that instinct. It was much easier to be hated. But now that this chance to be a part of something again presented itself, she felt vulnerable. Somewhat scared. And most amazingly of all, tremendously excited. It just so happened that that excitement translated into anxiety and doubt rather easily in her case.

_I'm sure he isn't even here. Yeah, quite positive of it._

" _Noé, so help me, if you don't go into those barracks in the next second, I will personally flash you there."_

Head snapping back and auburn strands bouncing up from it, emerald eyes narrowed at nothing in particular from Chief's words. "You can't even do that."

" _Neither of us know that because I've never tried. Don't make me."_

Noé had a hard time believing she would, but a part of her didn't want to risk the awkward scene if there was the slightest chance of that happening. Instead she took a deep breath to calm her rattled mind before lightly kicking back at Skata's side. The tiger replied quickly enough, running down the street and turning the corners Noé led it through until she found herself in front of the barracks. Stopping Skata in his tracks right before it though, Noé stared at the menacingly wide open doors. Her hands gripped tightly to Skata's fur, knuckles turning white.

" _The only way to find out is to try, little sparrow."_

Fueled by her meistras words, Noé hurried Skatas through the streets to get to the barracks before she could back out. Though many stared at her back as she made her way inside, she didn't give them any mind with how determined she was. Maybe bringing the sabertooth wasn't the best of ideas though. Attention from strangers she could bare with—she didn't know them after all—and although being noticed by those she knew wasn't that much different, Noé felt the knot that formed at her throat sink to her stomach at seeing every Fanalis on the grounds turning to her. Countless of crimson pairs of eyes gawked and though she tried dismissing it, she couldn't deny that it made her uncomfortable. But they weren't the ones she had business with.

_The cub's the one I have to apologize to._

Muu had been the one to incessantly approach her. Either because of choice or curiosity mattered little to her. What did was that he did. And to Noé that at least warranted an apology. But as she scanned the grounds and saw all the Fanalis except the one she was searching for, a groan escaped her.

" _Don't leave, kid. You're not backing out now that you're here."_

_What a way to motivate me you have, Chief. Just marv—_

"Is that…?"

"It's one of those sabertooths!"

"But they don't wander around here."

"It's one of them though. I know it!"

The low chatter that became quite boisterous out of the blue caught Noé's attention and yanked it away from the pity hole she was digging herself into. Turning to the voices, emerald eyes met with a great many pairs of red from the children that carefully huddled around a few feet away. Some startled and scurried away at noticing her staring at them but the majority stayed, more curious about Skata than they were afraid of her. Wanting to calm them for what it was worth, Noé dismounted the sabertooth, surprising some of the kids at doing so, but a quick gesture relaxed them enough for her to talk.

"Hey," she called out to them, her hand firmly on Skata's neck. When red eyes kept wavering from her to the tiger, Noé chuckled and patted his head. "There's nothing to be worried about. Skata isn't mean; plus, he's trained, so he won't do anything bad. I promise."

The disbelief that marred their eyes said her words didn't work for squat. They were still definitely scared.  _Well, let's show them then._  Patting Skata's head, the tiger turned to her attentive.

"Skata, sit."

Its head jerked back and shook as he chuffed, obviously against being the monkey of her circus. Glaring down at him for a solid minute worked its charm, though not without complaint. Skatas huffed a couple of times before languidly taking a sit. Accomplished, Noé turned with a broad smile as the soft cries of awe rose from the children. But they still refused to approach them. If because of her or him, Noé wasn't all that clear.

" _You're not here for them, Noé. Just move along."_

_Yeah, guess you're...right…_

Emerald eyes widened as one of the youngest children out of the bunch stepped out of their protective circle towards her and Skata. A girl maybe a year or two younger than Maahes made her way to them and stood before Skata who only stared down at her quizzically. The two simply gawked at one another prompting Noé to kneel down before the girl.

"Would you like to pet him?"

Head whirling to her, huge crimson eyes with pronounced markings widened with awe. "Can I?"

"Course you can." Patting Skata once more got the sabertooth to lay down before the young girl. Reaching out for her hand, Noé slowly guided it to Skata with her palm down, her hand flinching somewhat when Skata huffed out again. "It's alright, he won't hurt you." Letting the tiger smell her briefly let him get comfortable with the girl, and once that was over with, he leisurely pressed his head under her hand. Giggling, the girl reached out to pet him with both hands as she got more used to him.

Noé watched closely, keeping an eye on Skata's mood. By the looks of it, though, he liked being pampered. Using that to her advantage, she urged a few of the others to come closer, the few who did quickly introduced to Skata. In a more pleasant mood after the first girl, the tiger welcomed them with ease, laying further down to give them better access to the back of his ears.

"Little lady?"

Standing up at the somewhat familiar voice, Noé turned away from the kids to meet a group of Fanalis she did recognize striding into the training grounds. Lo'lo and Razol were instantly recognizable and it took a moment to realize Myron and Yaqut were with them. Though she wanted to flee feeling uncomfortable already, Noé held steadfast knowing that if anybody knew where Muu would be, it'd be them. But before she could say anything, the small girl from before perked up and ran to Lo'lo, throwing herself at him to wrap her arms as well as she could around his waist.

"Welcome back, big brother!"

_Brother?_

" _I can see the resemblance."_

_Yeah, if you squint at them the right way, maybe._ A smile spread across Lo'lo as he ruffled the girl's head, getting a giggle out of her. Her bright eyes turned up to him as he continued his way to Noé, her feet fitting well atop his making it easier to carry her with him.

"Brother, look! It's a sabertooth! I've never seen one before!"

"Is that one of the colosseum beasts?" Myron perked up, shielding her eyes from the sun to inspect the tiger that was now pawing at the children playfully.

"Used to be." Returning to her more blase attitude, she smugly grinned back at them. "Won Skata and his sisters back during my first match there."

Both Lo'lo's sister and Razol perked up like little kids being shown a new toy, they're eyes glinting with awe. "There are more!"

Chuckling, Noé nodded before motioning to Skata who only lifted his head slightly from his place. "He's the smallest so I thought it'd be less intimidating. And he likes to play more as well."

Lo'lo called out to his sister as both she and Razol ran back to play with Skata. "Rhea, don't hurt it."

A quirky 'yes' came up in the air as Rhea and Razol joined the rest of the kids, leaving her and the three others with Noé.

" _Don't chicken out."_

_Not the time for puns, Chief._

Clearing her throat to bring attention to herself, Noé took a deep breath before starting. "Look, I'm actually here to—"

"We know."

"You—You do?" Color slowly began draining out of her at the many things that could mean. Noé didn't take Muu to be that big of a loudmouth. Then again, she did say some rather loaded things. Could he have been angry enough to let the others know not to let her anywhere near—

"The captain told us you'd be coming soon a couple of days ago, so we've been expecting you," Yaqut told her.

Speechless as her train of thought got cut short, emerald eyes blinked owlishly at the news they just hit her with. "...he what?"

"Yeah, brother said you hadn't visited lately because you were busy with some other things." Myron played with strands of her red hair carelessly, but that her eyes kept peeking at her told Noé how interested she really was with her. "But you're here now, so let's spar."

"Well, I actually came looking for your brother."

"The captain?" Lo'lo thought for a second before turning to Myron who did the same with him. "Isn't he in one of those stuffy meetings?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Myron added before turning to Noé. "He'll be done soon though. Why not spar with us while you wait?"

_So stubborn._  "I don't think so. I've got things to do, people to see—"

Stopping mid sentence, the feathers behind her ears bristled a little as a small hand grasped at the tail of her drape to gently tug at it. Noé did her best to keep her temper at bay as she turned to meet the bright red gaze of Rhea's. A sullen taut line on her lips, Rhea looked from her to the other Fanalis before asking with a pout, "Are you and Skata leaving already?"

_Oh, geez._

Unable to say no to that face, Noé chuckled before shaking her head. Rhea brightened up like a brightly lit hearth and asked if they could feed Skata. After telling her what and how, Rhea thanked her and sprinted off towards the other kids that were chasing Skata around. Said tiger played around well with the red lion cubs, prancing and pouncing merrily.

" _You're such a pushover with kids."_

_...I know._

"Well then." Myron spun on her heels, her long red hair curling around her as she walked away. "If you're staying, why waste time waiting around when we can spar, right?"

_So pushy._ Despite this though, Noé wanted to say yes, but it felt awkward being there now. If Muu wasn't there, her apology wouldn't be of any use to them. They didn't even seem to know what had happened. Then again, Noé almost resented the fact that she still wanted to apologize after hearing that he'd told them such nonsense even after what happened. Hadn't they just had a huge fight a few days ago?

" _Seems his bark is a lot meaner than his bite."_

_Then...that must mean something right?_

Perhaps waiting wouldn't be such a bad idea. Taking a deep breath and lunging a couple of times to limber up, Noé let the guilt from before dissipate to allow herself some leeway to relax. Besides, with her anxiety so high, she feared she'd start molting any moment now. And that was definitely something she didn't want.

Guess this would be as good a way to let go as any. Noé would just have to keep it as tranquil as she could.

_Nothing wrong with some light sparring?_

**—{ii}—**

_Goddamn, they're monsters!_

" _Calm down there, kettle. And also, dodge."_

Just barely having a chance to take Chief's advice, Noé somehow managed to avoid Lo'lo roundhouse kick that would have most certainly done her head in. Getting some distance between them only allowed her a few minutes to breathe before the large Fanalis lunged at her once more. With how exhausted and out of breath she was though, Noé could only focus on keeping herself intact by avoiding his hits.

_We're seriously gonna need to rectify what 'light sparring' means to them!_

Noé hadn't been against sparring like Myron had so incessantly suggested—girl had a hang up still from last time, apparently—but she expected maybe a couple of rounds to spend the time. Not full on matches one after another with every Fanalis that wanted a piece of her. She had seriously underestimated how many had a bone to pick with her after her one visit. At first, Noé thought it wouldn't be a problem. From what Myron said her brother wouldn't be too long. But what was just an hour of sparring felt like days; especially considering that this was the twenty-seventh consecutive match.

" _This is—duck—this is good."_  For as much as Chief had been against wasting her time waiting around, it seemed that the djinn was now fully on board with Noé getting her ass handed to her. Then again, she'd won the last 27 fights, so that could be debated.

"How in the—hell—is—this—good!"

" _Stamina's always been a detriment of yours,"_  though she listened, Noé couldn't bite back a retort.  _"Prolong combat will surely improve that. Give it your best."_

Noé highly doubted that. But unable to stop the fight now, all she could do was try to win like she had the last fights. From the sidelines, all the Fanalis—grown and children—watched expectantly, most cheering for one party or another; the children boasting for Noé's victory while the older Fanalis goaded Lo'lo on. Ignoring them was easy, seeing as she had to deal with the behemoth that was Lo'lo relentlessly attacking her. Here and there, Noé managed to get in a few hits but with her lack of strength and his sturdy disposition, those hits did close to nothing to deter him from the fight. Nonetheless, she wouldn't throw in the towel. Not when she was finally pushing herself to some extent.

"Pretty limber, little lady!" The punch Lo'lo threw barely brushed past her shoulder as she sidestepped out of its way. Another that followed, though, hit her squarely in the stomach, sending her a few steps back and into a coughing fit. "But you aren't a heavy hitter."

Spitting out some bile that rose from her throat mixed with a little blood, Noé held steadfast, refusing to give in. Dashing forward to confront him head on, adrenaline fueled her and helped her neglect the aching that spiked through her body. Using her speed to her advantage, Noé did what best she could, sending a flurry of kicks and punches to drive him back. Just as his feet began sliding back, a triumphant grin started spreading across her lips. Sadly her victory—if that could even be counted as such—was brief. Lo'lo reeled back his arm with one swift motion and landed yet another punch, this one straight to her septum and wrenching all the breath from her lungs before it sent her flying across the grounds onto the far off all.

Noé felt the cracking of the concrete behind her before she heard it. Or that might've been her spine. As she slid down with the rubble that fell onto the floor and heard more things cracking, this time very clearly inside her, she groaned loudly. Yep, that was her spine or a rib. By the sound of multiple cracks and the fact that it didn't hurt like the hellhounds were mauling down on her, Noé guessed it'd been a couple of ribs. Deciding to lay there and bathe in the sun while writhing in the pain of her broken insides, she let the pain spread so it would numb out. Through closed eyelids, she saw the brightness of the sun disappear as it was suddenly blocked by whomever stood in the way.

Groaning again and not bothering to move an inch, Noé whined out loud not caring who heard her. "I'm done. I'm not fighting with broken ribs and, very likely, a fractured spine. You guys really don't know how to hold the fuck back." Despite everything, a small chuckle escaped her and regret washed over almost instantly when pain struck her side.

_Definitely ribs._

"Yes, I think you deserve some rest after being a certified punching bag for the past hour."

Emerald eyes shot open to meet a gentle, crimson gaze as Muu bent over her with what looked like a smile starting to form on his lips. Stupidly turning to stand and hearing another crack as pain wracked her once more, Noé groaned against the ground preferring to lay still instead. "Yeah, I'll just rest here."

"Don't think the floor's the most comfortable for that." Hearing the clanking of metal from his armor, Noé only caught a glimpse of Muu's bright red hair before his arms started grabbing at her. Not liking it but not wanting to risk anymore pain by moving, Noé mumbled obscenities under her breath all the while Muu helped her stand back up. Hanging one of her arms over his shoulders, he hunched over to better suit her height and held her steady by holding onto the obi around her waist. "There, there," he said still smiling even as she continued to lash out quietly, "I'll take you to the infirmary."

His blatant nonchalance made Noé recall why she was uncomfortable about being there in the first place. Not wanting to talk to him just yet despite Chief blaring at the back of her head to do so, Noé opted to continue muttering incoherencies under her breath to keep from having to converse with him. Though the rest of the Fanalis seemed somewhat concerned about her wellbeing, Muu was quick to dispel it, telling them he'd see to it that she was treated and for them to continue on. Reluctantly, they did. And Skata only did so begrudgingly after Noé told him to stay put with the kids.

It was only after Muu told one of the older kids to go tell the attendants of the infirmary they were heading there that they started on their way. Every step hurt, not because there was anything wrong with her legs but because the weight on her ribs from standing pained her more and more the longer she walked. It made the trek to the infirmary much longer than she remembered. It ended soon enough, thankfully, but Noé couldn't help but be somewhat weirded out by the fact that the cub brought her to a different room than before, one with a long tub that the infirmary attendants were preparing with hot water and all kinds of herbs and coctions.

"Why do I feel like you're brewing me for dinner?"

"It's medicinal," he corrected. "We use it to treat injuries that take long to heal."

"What? That thing has magic water or something?"

"Normal spring water. It's the herbs that tend well to internal injuries, including broken bones." When he started listing off what the attendants were practically boiling in that tub, Noé understood what made those herbs special.

"...they're the ones Hera grows in her sanctum." Feeling Muu tense beneath her but not sparing him any thought, Noé instead used it to remember how they worked. Imbued with rukh compatible with Life magic, it made sense why they'd be best for healing. When drank, anyway. Never had she taken a bath in them.

_...bath…_

"You don't expect me to jump in there, do you?"

"It'll do you well to. An hour or two soaking in there will have you as good as new."

"Not happening."

"You'd rather be in pain?"

"Would you undress in front of strangers?"

"You can barely stand."

"I won't—" Before she had a chance to keep arguing, Noé jerked in a way that sent another wave of pain through her body. Unable to stand it anymore, she fodled. "Fine, fine. But send them out."

"I think you might need help."

"Then you stay. But face the damn wall."

That ultimatum given, Muu gave it some thought before sighing and nodding at the attendants to leave. After swiftly doing as they were told, he helped Noé up to the small stoop set before the tub and sat her there.

"Are you sure you're fine undressing by yourself?"

Cockily smirking at him as she began undoing her obi to leave her drape more open, Noé looked up through her eyelashes at him. "If you're offering to help, who am I to reject such a handsome young man when he offers to disrobe me?" The moment she stretched out the ribbon of her obi for him to take in his hand, his face darkened in crimson matching his hair and eyes perfectly. Not giving any reply, Muu whirled around and took a chair with him to sit facing the wall like she told him to.

Chuckling at his innocent reaction lightened her mood more than she thought it would. Opting to take what he offered to make the pain lessened, she undressed as well as she could but stopped cold when her wing fell with an audible  _thud_  to the ground after taking her dress off.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, nothing wrong here," she told him through gritted teeth. Thankfully there were no windows in this part of the infirmary, and she could guess why with her being buck naked now. And though she wasn't shameful of being seen like this, she felt a tinge of panic having her wing exposed with someone who could so easily see it if they simply turned around just a few feet away. "If you turn around or even look over your shoulder, I'll skin you alive."

Noé couldn't tell whether he took the threat seriously or not judging by the small chortle he let out. "Don't worry, Miss Noé. I wouldn't dream of it." She didn't know whether to feel assured or insulted. For now, being assured was better.

With no other qualm, she carefully made her way into the tub, water splashing around and the excess falling over the edge as she settled in. A mix between a sigh and a groan escaped her as the warmth of the water began soothing away the pain wracking her side and back.

_Good god, this is amazing._

A small moan escaped her lips as she let herself sink deeper in the water while her wing rested over the edge of the tub. Dealing with a wet wing was definitely not something she wanted. It was enough having broken ribs and sore back as it was. But as her mind wandered in the blissfulness of her bath, the very reason she had come to the barracks in the first place came back with a vengeance in the form of Chief's incessant nagging.

" _Remember why you came here, Noé."_

Grabbing onto the edges of the tub, Noé submerged herself down to her chin and let the warmth distract her as she started.

"Thanks for the bath."

Muu lowered his head in a simply nod. "You're welcome."

"And also, well...I'm…" Sinking lower into the water cut her sentence short as a her words turned into bubbles underwater.

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that."

" _Stop fooling around, you overgrown chicken._ "

Right. But even repeating that word and telling herself that she had to do this for her own sake, Noé felt trapped. Apologizing wasn't something she did. Ever. There was no reason to. Well, except the few times there were. Like when she knew she'd made a huge mistake. Something like that had happened only once before and she never got to say sorry for it.

_I'm not making that mistake again._

"You know...what happened a few days ago was...completely out of line. Especially when it was painfully obvious you were just trying to be cordial and help." Hearing the slight shift of his chair, Noé glanced over to make sure he hadn't peeked over his shoulder. He hadn't. All he'd done was tilt his head to better hear her. All at once the water got warmer and it sloshed around her as she folded her legs in to cradle them in her arms.

"May I ask why?"

He could but Noé felt like saying it out loud would just be stoking that particular fire. Seeing she could very well back out because of how uneasy and awkward Noé was getting, Chief intervened, encouraging her to reply. It took a little prodding to get her to but eventually she did.

"All of you weirded me out."

"Weirded you...out?"

The sincerity in his question was something she couldn't very well ignore. "For all my boisterous zeal, I'm not particular...good with people."

" _Come on, kid, you can do better than that. Be honest with someone for once in your life."_

_He's just a kid himself. And a stranger._

" _As are you to him."_

Touché. Noé distracted herself by rubbing at her face with the warm water, trying to clear some of that color from it. "Actually, I don't like being close to people. And I'm not talking about personal space."

"It's somewhat noticeable now that you mention it."

"It is?" she asked, her eyebrow raising quizzically.

Muu nodded as he let himself leisurely fall back onto the chair and stare up at the ceiling. "Yes. Subtly but...I think I can see what you mean from what I've seen. But I thought you kept others away by making them hate you, like you tried with me."

"I usually don't have to resort to such measures." Distracting herself to have a more decent conversation, Noé busied herself with properly bathing. Now that her side hurt a little less it was a little easier to move.

A little easier to talk.

"Usually people keep their distance from me. My overzealousness turns them away. And it's something normal for me after so long. But when you guys welcomed me so easily like that? It was just…"

"...a little too much to handle?"

The diminutive got a chuckle out of her as she carded her fingers through her hair now freed from its ponytail and sinking in the water making it a murky reddish brown. "A lot too much to handle, honestly. I can deal with people ignoring me, hating me even, but when they're kind, well, it's eerie for me. And the fact that I'm in Reim doesn't make it any better."

"I've been curious for a while now so I hope you don't mind my asking; you say that Reim is at the bottom of whatever list you're following, right? But with what I've seen and heard from you and Lady Scheherazade, I have a growing suspicion that it should be somewhere nearest to the top."

"You want me to bump it up there that much?"

His chair almost toppling over from him wanting to deny it made her sink lower into the water and shift her wing away from his sight in case he turned. When he didn't though, Noé relaxed a little as he fumbled with his words.

"N-Not at all! It's just that I find it...strange, to say the least."

Emerald eyes strayed from her glistening skin to the back of his head as she leaned her cheek against the tepid porcelain of the tub. "Not everything that happened to me at Reim was bad, little cub."

"Do they outweigh the bad?"

"Nothing will get me to forget my son's death being at the hands of Reimians if that's what you're asking."

"I'm not—exactly." Muu clicked his tongue and sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head. "I guess my question is, if something as bad as that happened here, why leave Reim till last?"

"Like I said, a lot of good things happened to me at Reim. Elior was born here for one." That's right. For all intents and purposes, Elior had technically been a citizen of Reim when it starting growing from the small city it had been. "I met Scheherazade. And I also met and got to know Nadi."

"Nadi?"

_That's right, he doesn't know._  Oh, what a surprise he was about to get.

"You're great-great—actually I'm not going to bother with his title—he's one of your ancestors, cub. Pernadius Alexius, to be precise."

This time he really did fall from his chair from how badly he took those news. "Y-Y-You met Pernadius Alexius?"

Perking up at how easily shocked he was, Noé chuckled. "Yeah! Nadi was a good man. Helped me get out of a tough spot and with Elly when he was younger."

"...you met Pernadious Alexius…"

Brow furrowing in confusion, Noé snapped her fingers to get his attention out of that fact. "Yes, cub. Care to keep up with the conversation?"

Shaking his head, Muu almost turned about and would've had Noé not screeched out loud, telling him not to. Had he turned though, she was ready to chuck the jug of water the attendants left for her at the side of the tub if need be. Stumbling on his feet, he walked up to the door to brace himself there. "But that's impossible. If that were true that would make you at least as old as Lady Scheherazade."

"Actually I'm older than Hera-chan."

"Older?" For some reason, though just as visibly astounded by the news, there seemed to be a part of him that couldn't be anymore shocked than he already was if the nervous chuckle he let out was any sign. "How much older exactly?"

"Exactly?" Now that there was a question she didn't frequently ask herself.

_Chief?_

" _You think I keep count?"_ Yes, actually, she did think so. Defeated by the silence, Chief gave her a number to which Noé herself was sufficiently impressed about to whistle at. It definitely did not feel like it'd been that long.

"More or less? Around 2595 years old."

"What?!"

This time Muu didn't have the mind to remember his promise and fully turned around towards the tub. Shrieking, Noé held no qualms and tossed the jug without a second thought. The ceramic flew along with the water inside and Muu expertly avoided it, the jug crashing and shattering into pieces.

"Get out! Now!"

Before she could even say 'now,' Muu was already out the door, shutting it loudly behind him. He didn't quite have the mind to leave however, apologizing again and again from the other side of the closed doors. Fuming and feeling her cheeks grow hot due to it, Noé slapped the water out of need to let her annoyance out. "Yeah, yeah, you big ole perverted cub!" But with a concrete wall and wooden door between them, Noé finally felt somewhat comfortable to say what she'd been trying to the whole time. And this time, she said it without missing a beat.

"I'm really sorry about how I treated you. I shouldn't have. And aside from saying sorry, I just hoped we could...maybe start over."

Noé hadn't expected for him to hear her quiet whisper, much less for him to answer.

"I would like that very much, Miss Noé."

**Author's Note:**

> So here is the first chapter of the second installment of these series of fics. For this new story, The Meanderer, it will follow Noé who made a brief appearance in SL (kudos to those who remember where!).  
> The format of this story will be different from SL since I'm trying a different type of writing style with this one. Allow me to explain in case it was a little hard to follow while reading.
> 
> The story will be divided into two. Those denoted with [i] will be pre-canon mostly and be referred to as her fledgling years. Those denoted with [ii] will be for when the story coincides with the canon storyline. [ii] will be a linear story in itself and although most of it will be in Noé's perspective, it will change from time to time. [i] won't be as linear, more like scattered instances that are important things that happened. Also don't be confused by their titles of fledgling and adult; in [i] there are instances where she is close to the age that she is in the [ii] adult sections. I think half of the [i] are as she grows (child to teen) and the other half are when she's closer to how she is now. Aside from canonicity separating them, an event that'll be delved into later is what separates them mostly.


End file.
